Band of Brothers
by denebtenoh
Summary: The champions are back in Dissidia, and though they are brought against their will, their reencounter makes their bonds grow stronger. Once again they have a battle to fight and win together, and they will sure do it as the brothers (and sisters) in arms they all have become
1. Confrontation

BAND OF BROTHERS

CHAPTER 1

The cute, beautiful Esper is feeling overwhelmed by Sephiroth´s powerful strikes: no matter how fast she casts, this man´s blade has not left her a second to breathe, and every time he swings his sword, she´s left with just barely fractions of seconds to avoid being cut in half.

His long sword, the Masamune, reaches for her flesh again, and she barely makes it on time before it strikes her. Terra Brandford rolls on the ground, avoiding for a second time the slash, and raises to throw a powerful blizagga spell against the one-winded man. But he slashes the magic in half as if it were nothing, passing through it unharmed, and raises his weapon over his head, ready to finish his enemy. Without time to get out of harm´s way, Terra only manages to close her eyes and cover her face with both arms. But suddenly the man stalls the attack; he looks up and immediately jumps away from the Esper, as a bolt of lightning strikes the place he had been standing in, just a fraction of a second ago. Right behind the magic bolt, a tall pinkette makes her appearance, landing in front of her comrade and, without breaking her momentum, she makes a second attack with her long blade, the Crimson Blitz, that forces their enemy to jump further away.

"L-Lightning!" Terra whispers, surprised she could have such a great timing.

"It´s ok, Terra, I´m here." The tall pinkette offers a hand to her friend, and the smaller woman takes it joyously.

"Thank you so much! I´m glad you came!"

Without breaking eye contact with Sephiroth, Lightning addresses her friend. "Don´t thank me yet. We´re not done here." She looks up, her eyes searching for the other battling pair, and Terra follows her gaze. "Zidane is in deep trouble, but I´m of not much use against a wizard; please go help him, you´re the best choice for that. I´ll take care of things here."

The smaller woman nods at her peer and runs towards her fallen comrade, while Lightning locks eyes with her enemy.

"Damn you, Sephiroth!" She reprimands the tall man, angry to see her friend displaying many bruises. "Attack me instead and let her be. It´s me the one you want to fight."

He smirks at her words. "You think she cannot see for herself? Of all the people I would think would look down on a comrade for being a woman, the last one would be you."

"I´m not looking down at her, but at you." She replies, unaffected. "You know you´re stronger than many, and yet you still attack her. Don´t be a bully and pick on someone your size."

He spats at her words, entertained. "You´re not of my size, woman."

She retaliates with a smirk on her own. "I think you´re just afraid I might prove you wrong."

He smiles at her, but doesn´t give into her taunting. "I´ll prove you wrong about that, but first tell me, why cannot I attack anyone I want? Should I feel ashamed of my power, then? Is that your suggestion? But don´t place yourself too high, woman. As I said before, you´re no closer to my level than she is."

She knows he´s just pushing her buttons, but Lightning is unable to contain the ire his words bring. "Just stop talking and come here! I want you to feel my blade!"

His smile grows wider. "It would be my pleasure."

The both clash blades, eager for each other´s blood, but Lightning, after a few interchanges, has to accept the difference between them. He´s been able to push her backwards with sheer brute force, and more than once Lightning has had to acknowledge his superiority in strength. But that only means she has to create better strategies, and rely more on her speed and prowess. So she spins around her axis, to use his heavier weight against him, and then slashes at him, but the man is able to read her movements, and protects his exposed side easily.

 _Damn._

She tries once again to gain the upper hand, doing a summersault to fall upon him and trying to surprise him. But the moment she´s falling onto him and their swords clash, she feels an intense pain on her back, the attack piercing through her body and breaking her momentum, almost forcing her to kneel. Sephiroth, apparently not noticing her injury, clashes swords with her once more and sends her flying away from him; she falls and rolls on the ground, the pain intensifying.

Lightning grunts while she stands with one knee on the ground. As she looks down to her abdomen, her eyes open wide with surprise at finding the piece of a broken arrow protruding through her flesh.

"W-what…? How did…? Firion…?"

Sephiroth approaches her slowly, noticing her weakness, and she looks up, surprised at being found out of focus. Before she´s able to stand, he sends a kick her way but she raises her arms on time, and his leg collides with her forearms. She rolls away from him and then forces herself to stand in spite of the pain. The moment she looks at Sephiroth again, she finds the culprit of her current plight. Behind the tall man, there are two forms: her comrade, Firion, the man she once shared a secret with, is standing in front of her, his eyes fixed on her form. Only, his entire skin and clothes are gleaming, his frame formed by shimmering diamond. She understands then, that the one attacking her had been none other than the perfect manikin of her friend, presently pointing a bow at her, as he readies his next attack. The second man has the exact same description than the first, only this time is the Warrior of Light´s manikin brandishing his weapon menacingly at her.

"Tch. Sephiroth, I thought you were braver than this. Are you so afraid of fighting against me one on one, that you had to call upon reinforcements?"

The man stalls his movement for a moment, as if pondering her words, and then looks behind him, following her sight. When he finds the two combatants, the ex-soldier smirks and turns at the woman, shrugging and eyeing her wound.

"Don´t look at me, I didn´t summon them to attack you, they came on their own; I bet they followed your delicious scent all the way here. As for me, I must say I´m sure I´ll enjoy the show."

She scoffs at his words, taking the end of the arrow and pulling, to no avail. It would seem the piece is embedded deep in her body, and she can feel the end of it protruding on her back. For Lightning, every movement is torture, since the arrow is working against her, injuring the flesh in its vicinity every time she has to move, not allowing her to heal, and not letting her cast any cura spell. Lightning stands up straighter, breathing heavily, as she tries a second time to pull out the offending object, but before she does it, the Warrior manikin attacks her, and she´s forced to repel, raising her weapon. The pain is just exquisite as she clashes swords with the manikin, blow after blow she grunts, just barely resisting the torture, until another intense pain explodes in her lower limb. She looks down, finding another arrow, this time penetrating her leg.

The new injury makes her recoil by instinct, and also makes the Warrior manikin stagger, since he had his weight forced against her. Lightning uses his stumbling to retaliate, breaking her enemy´s guard and, with a swift motion that takes the manikin by surprise, slashes him in two. As he disappears into thin air, she lets herself fall on the ground, following the momentum, and just in time, since a third arrow flies in front of her, seeking her flesh and failing. She rolls on the ground and the moment she stands, sends a powerful thundaga spell towards the Firion manikin, destroying him instantly.

But the pain and the blood loss numb her concentration, and thus Lightning doesn´t notice Sephiroth coming closer to her, so the moment she stands tall again, she doesn´t react on time at the man´s attack; as a result, Masamune finds its trek towards her absolutely free, and impales itself on her right shoulder, forcing her to drop the crimson sword.

"Aaargh!"

The surprise attack steals a scream from her lips, and before she can look at the weapon hurting her, her azure eyes find themselves at the level of green orbs looking straight at her, as if trying to pierce her soul, and with a maddening tint behind them.

"I´m sorry, Lightning, I hope you understand I just couldn´t stand it. With all that blood coming out from you, I just had to give my own contribution to your demise." His words are followed by his hands pushing forward, drawing the blade deeper inside her flesh.

She huffs, forcing her vision to focus and glaring at the mad man; making a titanic effort, she uses her uninjured hand and takes her enemy by the collar.

"Don´t worry, Sephiroth. I understand."

Her enigmatic words make his eyebrow rise, and then, as if he could understand her hidden intentions, his eyes open wide in surprise, the moment he feels her hand getting warmer. He tries to step back, away from her, and tries to push her too, but the explosion in her hand takes him by surprise, as the piro spell detonates into his chest, sending him flying backwards.

She´s propelled backwards too by the force of the explosion; in her trek she hits a column with her back, almost doubling it over, and she falls unceremoniously onto the ground, as if she were a ragged doll. Fortunately for her, Terra had watched them on the distance, and had sent her way a shield spell, that being the reason why she ventured on her risky move; she knew that, even if it wouldn´t prevent her from being injured by the explosion, at least it would avoid the blast to torn her into pieces. As it is, just a couple of first-degree burns in her left arm are the price she had to pay. Lightning stays on the ground, unmoving, allowing herself a few seconds of respite and to collect her strength, but then forces herself upwards, refusing to give in.

 _I have to…_ She looks up, finding Sephiroth´s unconscious form away from her, and in the middle, her sword waiting for her. _I… have to…_

She forces her body upwards, but her knees buckle for the blood loss and the pain, and her vision is becoming blurred. She knows she´s about to enter in shock. Her knees finally give way, but the moment she´s about to fall, Zidane reaches her, holding her upright.

His eyes grow wide at seeing the broken pieces of arrows embedded on her flesh, and the deep wound in her shoulder, all of them gushing blood in free streams, especially the last one. He closes his eyes as if to erase the images and then looks into her eyes, forcing her to stand straighter.

"C´mon Light! Don´t give up on me now!"

She looks at him, her weight almost crushing him, but the thief stands his ground, determined on helping her. Lightning notices he´s injured too, fresh blood over his temple, and there seems to be a gush in the shoulder that isn´t carrying her, but he pushes her upwards anyways, using his free hand to hold tightly her crimson weapon.

"You… you took my sword."

"Of course I took it, I know I´ll never hear the end of it if I were to leave it behind." He smiles at her, and she manages to smirk at his words.

"Terra, where is she?"

The thief looks up with a worried expression on his countenance.

"She´s fighting the Emperor, but… he´s becoming harder than I thought."

Lightning looks up too, and finds the shorter woman crashing hard against a column, as the Emperor looms over her, readying another strike, one that fortunately doesn´t reach Terra, the blonde being able to move faster.

Lightning´s eyes close in slits, considering their options, and stands taller, taking her weapon from Zidane´s hand.

"I think it´s time we lend her a hand." But the moment she gives a step forward, she stumbles. The Crimson Blitz is embedded in the ground, as Lightning uses it as leverage to keep herself standing. She huffs, the pain intensifying by the effort, but her eyes stay focused on Terra´s form, determination fixed on them.

"But Light… your wounds…" Zidane hesitates, his hands hovering around her figure, but doubting his help would be well received.

"I´m sure Terra can help me." She spats, giving hesitant steps, but resolute on helping her friend. "We all have to get away from here, and fast." She eyes the prone figure of the silver-blonde male. "He will wake up soon. And that won´t be good."

oooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

A/N:

I don´t own Final Fantasy. I just write this out of fun.

I adored the moment they portrayed Sephiroth and Lightning clashing blades; though I know he wouldn´t be an easy opponent, I´m still firm on thinking Lightning is capable of defeating him, though I´m aware it will be a bloody battle. But what about fighting a powerful wizard? In Dissidia NT, I actually hate those encounters, because most of the time the magicians turn around away from you and have long range attacks, thus they can easily get to you, while I prefer close contact. Well, we can´t always have what we want, ne?

I was a bit mad (spoilers here! Read at your own risk) that Lightning didn´t come to save Terra when she was being overwhelmed by Sephiroth´s attacks, and instead, they had to rely on Kuja for that. They, Terra and Zidane, were her comrades! Part of her group! She should´ve been more careful about them.

I´d also like to explore Lightning´s relationship with her group comrades, since, in some way, Zidane could resemble Hope, and Terra Vanille (obviously, a lot stronger), what would think Lightning on that? What would happen when she notices she cannot treat them like she did to her other friends? They are full warriors, after all.

Well, hope you enjoyed the story!


	2. Bleeding out

BAND OF BROTHERS

CHAPTER 2

Lightning looks up and focuses on the flamboyant man attacking her friend. Gathering power in the palm of her hand, she sends a powerful thundara spell that hits their foe straight on the face, staggering him. Terra looks down at the pinkette and his smaller companion and smiles in thanks, focusing again her attention on the Emperor, now recovered completely to that surprise attack and who smirks at the small woman in front of him.

"That was such a dirty trick, attacking from behind, but it won´t be enough to stop me."

Terra is going to retaliate, but it was Lightning the one to speak.

"I´m not done yet, asshole."

The moment the Emperor staggered, it had allowed the group to gather enough time and strength to focus on summoning, without him noticing.

"Give them hell out there with your lightning!"

At that moment, a blinding light envelops them, and once they can see, the imposing and powerful frame of Rahmu stands in front of them all, while thunderous bolts of lightning envelop the Emperor, making him scream in agony and sending him flying away from the friends.

"Yeah! That´s how it´s done!" Yells an overexcited Zidane, unwilling and unable to prevent his sheer emotion from letting show. But his happiness doesn´t last long since he feels Lightning´s taller body fully overloading him and making him stagger.

"L-Lightning?"

She is doubling over herself, clutching her abdomen, and Zidane can see blood further spurting from the open wound. She had tried to pull out the arrow once more, but only managed to break it, creating a greater wound and making the matters worse. For the evident torture on her countenance, the pain must surely be unbearable.

"Lightning! Hang on!"

"Zidane… I…" The insufferable pain and blood loss, adding the prompt summoning, has been just too much for her, and the thief worries the arrow must´ve hit a vital organ. The woman is losing her battle against unconsciousness. The smaller fighter grunts, but holds his ground.

"Please hang on! I´ll get you some help!"

A movement allows him to see under the pink locks covering her face, and he sees that she has already passed out, her eyes completely closed.

"Urgh! You… for someone as lean as you, you really are heavy!" The little monkey grunts some more, while his body starts to give up on him. Maybe it isn´t her weight at all, not more than her body´s bigger proportions, the ones giving him hell. Knowing he is losing the battle, Zidane leads slowly and carefully the pinkette´s body towards the ground. Just when he has found the safest way to hold her, so that he can fetch Terra´s help, something hard collides against his back, sending him forwards and smashing him against a metallic wall, while he feels how his body, in a flash, lose the warmth emanating from Lightning´s skin.

"Lightning! No!" Those are the last words he can say before his head hits the metal and the impact renders him unconscious. But the image in front of him right before the collision is burned in his retinas like the worst omen of all.

Sephiroth has regained consciousness, and with a powerful grip over her chest, has abducted Lightning´s limp body, smashing her back hard against one of the iron pillars, an action that produces a sickening crack. Zidane´s last thoughts are directed towards the pinkette´s surely broken ribs.

With his free hand, the dark-winged angel takes the unconscious woman´s chin and forces it up, so that he can have a perfect view of her countenance, while he licks his lips in anticipation.

"Mmh, Lightning… I have never seen you like this. Such beauty… you look completely peaceful in this slumbering state of yours. You almost look like an angel…" He brings his face closer to hers and, with a soft and slow motion, passes his tongue through her lips, cheek, and ear, tasting the blood and sweat that had been covering the fair skin. His lips linger over her ear and he smiles, speaking as if she could hear him. "You know I could kill you right here and now? It´s a little bit fascinating to think that there´s nothing you can do to prevent my blade from going through your heart." He closes his grip harder against her jaw, while his smile grows into a devilish smirk. "So tempting…"

"Leave her alone!"

The scream makes him turn, but only to smile wider, and rather contemptuously, at seeing a tired and injured Terra running at him the fastest she can, trying her hardest to look defiant to defend her friend.

"This would be interesting." Even when his face is almost expressionless, his smile holds a tint of mockery. "Are you trying to fight against me to protect her honor?"

And then she moves.

Sephiroth senses the soft shift of the body hanging from his hands, instinct sparing his life the moment he moves backwards as a dagger embeds itself in his shoulder, avoiding his heart just by mere inches.

"Argh! How dare you?!" The pain makes him lose the grip he has on Lightning, and she falls on the ground, trembling, weakened and in pain, but with her fist tightly grasping the bloodied dagger, the one she always carries in the pouch at her leg. She grunts the moment she hits the floor, resenting the many injuries she has collected in the battle, but still forces herself to roll away from him.

The man seethes in rage and pain but forces himself to ignore the blood pouring out of the new wound and instead fixes his green eyes on his prey, promising death with the intense glare, one that even makes Terra stop her desperate sprint. Just when he is about to reach the pinkette again, a blinding light envelops them once more, and lines of dancing lightning bolts, Rahmu´s remaining magic, surround him, creating a protective wall that separates him from the woman on the floor. His eyes travel all around the luminescent prison he´s in, seeking for a way through, and once he finds none, he locks eyes with baby blue orbs.

"Fight me, Lightning. Our destiny is to fight one another to awaken the beast. Fight me, or we will all regret it." His countenance is unreadable, but through his eyes, the woman can see the passionate soul harbored inside him. The sight that meets her gives her further strength to force her body to stand upwards in spite of the pain that doubles her over, helping herself with the wall behind her.

"You can´t be serious, Sephiroth. You won´t convince me that your savagery and utter craving for torture has a deeper meaning. You´re not Kain."

Behind his luminescent bars, the man smirks softly.

"I do have to wonder why that name came to your mind."

She wants to answer with a cheeky retort but a flash of torture passes through her abdomen, the moment she involuntarily makes the arrow inside of her move. Oh… the pain! She would love to curl up in a fetal position and forget everything and everyone, would love to just throw herself on the ground and dig inside her flesh to rip out whatever is making her suffer this much. But now is not the time to give herself into despair.

Lightning Farron never gives up.

Terra approaches her fast, but once she gets closer to her friend, Lightning raises her palm, preventing the younger woman from reaching out to her. Terra doesn´t understand for a moment, but once the baby blue eyes reach the ones of her foe, it finally dawns on her: the tall woman is in the middle of a battle of wits, and in spite of it all, it´s obvious that she´d hate to lose. The smaller woman knows Lightning enough to understand her, so she decides to respect her wishes, even when those wishes may take her to her own demise. So, more than unwillingly, Terra is left to stand and bear witness of her friend´s torture.

Lightning inhales as deeply as her broken ribs allow her, and forces her body straighter once more, as her eyes are defiantly fixed on her enemy.

"If you want to say something to me, then speak plainly. I don´t have time for your gibberish." A sudden cough interrupts her words, making her double over herself, while her mouth is filled with the taste of iron and her lips are tainted in crimson, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of her mouth. She knows, as well as he, she´s running out of time. The man looks up at the sky through his scintillate prison, and whatever he sees makes him more anxious, more eager to escape and confront her, so he turns to look back at the woman in front of him.

"Stand up, Soldier!" He tries to push her buttons by reminding her of her previous status. "Stand up and fight me to defend your honor! Fight me, and the pain will end soon, I can assure you that." The pinkette coughs once more, her now blood-soaked hand covering her lips, but he does as if he hasn´t noticed this and pushes on. "You´ve promised to protect this land, and it´s your blood, and maybe mine too, the ones destined to return life back to it."

Lightning spits the blood accumulated in her mouth and looks at him defiantly.

"I´d rather die here than follow your insane ideas."

For an instant, Sephiroth´s expression changes into that of utter rage the moment he sees he just can´t coax her into battle again, and his enraged bloodshot eyes meet Lightning´s crystal blue, determined ones.

"You can´t prevent this from happening, woman." Sephiroth seethes in rage but is still able to keep his voice even. "Either you can do it willingly, fight me to the death to save this world, or try to run, which will prove you to be futile. I´ll find you and kill you wherever you go."

"You can try, Sephiroth, but you´ve noticed that it doesn´t matter what dirty tricks you use, nor how many allies you gather. You won´t see me fall."

Her words pinch his pride and he gives a step towards her, almost touching the lightning bars, while an animal growl escapes from his lips. This small slip of control from him gives the woman further power over the ex-soldier, so she stands tall, her baby blue eyes fixed on his steel gray ones.

The defiant posture makes him even angrier, and he finally gives the step forward, craving to make her bleed even more, but the moment he touches the lightning bolts, an explosion propels his body into the air and crashes hard against a metallic wall, far away from the allies. Once the man is away from her, Terra immediately reaches for her friend, as Lightning´s body gives up on her and legs start staggering, all strength finally leaving her.

"I´ve got you, Light, don´t worry. I´ve got you." Terra tries her hardest to keep the tall woman standing straight, but she isn´t as strong as Zidane, and she starts to collapse under the Savior´s bigger frame. "C´ mon, Lightning… you… you´ve gotta help me. We need to move on!"

The Esper´s desperate pleas make Lightning open her eyes, and in the distance, she sees Sephiroth´s prone body stirring slightly, obviously in the verge of getting up. As impossible as it is, it isn´t a surprise for Lightning, the one-winged angel is much too strong to be defeated so easily.

"Leave me here, Terra. Take Zidane and leave me here. The three of us won´t make it."

"Don´t you dare say that to me!" The smaller woman snaps at her as if completely offended by the possibility. "That evil man has taken a liking on hurting you, on making you bleed, and I won´t let that happen! I won´t let him touch you ever again!"

The girl´s words make the taller woman smile, and Lightning realizes that, during these kidnapping into the new cycle, she had been smiling at her comrades a lot more than she did her first time around. With no little effort, she places a hand upon Terra´s shoulder for support and forces herself upwards, ignoring the pain the movement elicits and the one produced by every small breath she takes. Breathing shallowly, her legs buckling, the Savior finally separates herself from the smaller woman, her countenance filled with pain but her eyes with steeled determination.

"Go… Zidane…"

"But I need to…" Terra points a palm towards Lightning´s injured torso, but the tall woman takes her by the wrists and forces her to lower it, while she shakes her head.

"You can´t. Not yet. We first…" The pinkette coughs and tries to conceal the fact that it´s blood what has stained her hand. "We first need to remove the arrows. And we don´t have that much time." She looks towards the stirring body of their enemy, and as she follows the path of Lightning´s stare, cold chills run through Terra´s back.

"Ok, I´ll go fetch him."

Terra runs towards her fallen comrade and once she reaches him, falls on her knees as she palms his face, while her other hand creates a cura spell that envelops him whole. Slowly, much too slowly for Terra´s taste, the small thief opens his eyes.

"Wha… Terra?"

"Let´s go, Zidane, we really need to get out of here." With her help, the little monkey stands up, and they both run towards Lightning, who, with no little effort, has reached her blade, her eyes still fixed on Sephiroth´s form.

"The gate is open. Hurry! That man is almost awake!"

"No! The three of us will pass through that gate or none!" Terra´s determined voice startles her comrades.

"Terra…"

"I won´t let you alone with that man again!" The girl retaliates vehemently, standing her ground.

"I agree with her, Lightning," Zidane interrupts whatever the pinkette was going to say. "We are together in this. You don´t have to face him all by yourself."

She should be happy for their words, should feel thankful. But the truth is that their words make her anxious. Not even the three of them together, with the state she´s in, will be able to defeat Sephiroth, even when he´s injured too.

Or was, given the sudden appearance of a luminous fog enveloping him.

 _Damn! I need to take these arrows out of me!_

"Go… go!"

She yells at her comrades, and with one passing her left arm over his shoulder and the other doing likewise with her right arm, they all make a sprint towards the illuminated gate, at least as fast as Lightning´s worn-out body allows them. She can hear him now, how his body travels through the land in a fast motion, cutting the air as his Masamune does anytime he strikes. Desperation reaches the three friends, but Lightning´s determination only increases by it. Once they reach the gate, the tall woman uses all her strength left to propel her friends through the entrance, and with the same momentum, turns around and meets face to face with her foe, the devilish smirk sending goosebumps through her body.

He knows he has her, he can almost feel her flesh through his blade.

But not this time.

In the instant she´s turning, she raises a shield spell, and just in time, since the strength of Masamune´s strike makes her fall on her knees just as the spell is shattered into pieces. The ricochet of the strike doesn´t dissuade him from his intentions, so he softly smirks at her, knowing full well she´s defeated.

"You´re mine, Lightning, there´s nothing you can do to help it. Stop denying it and just fight me with all you´ve got. Face the inevitability of your demise."

Sephiroth raises his blade and sends another, even more powerful strike towards the woman, but Lightning gathers the rest of her energy and, raising her blade too, executes a magnificent Gaelstrike, its wind attribute hitting both combatants full force and sending them flying backwards, away from one another. Sephiroth falls onto the ground again, while Lightning falls through the gate, traversing it, and once she does, the luminous entrance collapses, leaving the man without a way of reaching his pray. Bloodshot eyes are fixated at the place his enemy had just been and is about to scream her name when an ominous sight in the form of patches of black energy, traverse the sky, destroying and consuming the world around him. The ex-soldier chuckles at the sight, knowing that, after all, he has reached today´s goal.

"Fine then. Live another day. You well know we´ll meet soon enough, and next time, our encounter will be so marvelous, the skies will open up just to see us fight. Just to see you die under my hand."

ooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo

"Terra? Zidane?" Y'shtola and Cloud kneel in front of their fallen comrades, while said friends shake their heads and search with their eyes around them, trying to get their bearings. Once both sets of eyes find each other, they both yell in unison, startling the rest.

"Lightning!"

"What?" Y'shtola is the first to react. "Where is she?"

Terra grabs her by the arm. "We need to go help her! Sephiroth…"

"Sephiroth? You fought against him?" Cloud interrupts her, while Squall takes a step towards the entrance, his countenance still unreadable but with eyes searching, almost in concern.

"Yeah, she…" Zidane is concerned too, and almost ashamed of himself. "She saved us from them, saved Terra from him, but he… he…"

"He seems to have a sick fixation on her." They all turn at the voice, impressed that the almost always-silent man has spoken more than a couple of words. Squall ignores them, trying his hardest to see through the access, when suddenly a gush of wind surprises him and then something hard comes through the entrance and collides against the man, sending them both flying backwards. The moment Squall notices pink locks obstructing his sight, he envelops the smaller frame with his arms and lets the inertia take them. He rolls on the ground, always protecting the body underneath him, until they finally stop, a few steps away from their friends, and he looks down, searching for the crystal clear eyes.

"Lightning? Are you okay?"

"Please… the arrows…" she begs, her voice so weak it clenches his heart.

"What do you mean? There are no arrows here, you´re safe now."

"No Squall," Y'shtola interrupts the man, as she approaches and swiftly passes her eyes through the woman´s body, addressing all her injuries. "She means the arrows embedded in her flesh. We will not be able to heal her unless we extract them out of her."

Squall looks down at the body on top of his, just as Cloud gets near them, and they both open their eyes in astonishment and rage. Lightning´s right arm is completely bathed in her own blood, just like her neck, the ghastly wound still bleeding; her once white jacket is bathed in a crimson hue almost all over, but even more from her breasts down, and they can see the broken tip of one of the arrows protruding from her flesh, as well as her left leg dampened in red, with the second arrow passing through either side. But what impresses them the most are her once pink lips now completely crimson, just like her chin, while she coughs small droplets of blood.

"Damn you Sephiroth!" Cloud seethes in rage and curses. "Why the hell did he do that to her?"

"Do you really need an answer to that?" Zidane eyes the blond, all worked up too. "Because he´s a freaking maniac! That´s why!"

"A maniac who has taken some liking in hurting her." Terra´s darkened eyes are locked in Lightning´s injuries, while she kneels alongside Y´shtola to help her friend.

"He injures anyone he approaches." Cloud speaks.

"Yeah, but even Squall has noticed that jerk kinda enjoys it a lot more when it´s Lightning´s blood the one he´s shedding." Zidane retaliates, pointing at the brunet man to further reinforce his argument, but the addressed cadet says nothing, his eyes still fixed on the bleeding injuries.

"Shush all of you! Sephiroth´s motives are not important at the moment." Y'shtola intervenes, their bickering getting on her nerves. "We need to remove the arrows out of her, they´re still damaging her further as we speak. Cloud, would you take Lightning off of Squall?"

But before the blond can even answer, Squall envelops the smaller frame with both arms, blue eyes fixed on silver ones of the Miqo´te, startling her.

"No. She´s staying with me, it´ll bring her comfort."

"But Squall," Terra intervenes, "she´s heavy, and your position will give you cramps later on."

"I said no. I don´t mind, she needs me."

"It´s okay, buddy." Even Zidane tries to reason with the cadet. "I understand what you´re feeling, but the girls will take good care of her, so you can let go of her now…"

"I said no." His voice is even but filled with sheer determination, as his eyes convey what his words can´t. "You might understand how I feel. But you don´t understand how she feels." His glare moves from Zidane to the rest of his comrades and then locks eyes with the tall Miqo´te. "We shouldn´t move her any further. It´ll injure her even more. I promise you I can hold. I can help her like this."

Cloud sighs in frustration as he passes a hand through wild blond locks. "Look, man, just let her go."

Squall is ready to argue once more but Y'shtola prevents his words.

"Alright, Squall. If you are convinced your presence will help her, we will do it your way. Just make sure you do as I say, no hesitation nor doubt. Have I made myself clear?"

The young man only nods.

Y´shtola lets a small sigh escape her lips, as she directs her attention to the pinkette. "Lightning, can you hear me?" The tall magician caresses the pink locks, trying to get a response. The fallen woman grunts and nods as the only reply. "We need to take the arrows out, and I will not lie to you, each attempt will hurt like you have no idea, my friend, I´m truly sorry I am not able to spare you the torture."

"I do have an idea… my friend." Lightning´s breathing is becoming weaker by the minute, but she forces her focus with everything she can. "Please… just…"

"Yes, do not worry anymore, it will not take us long. Just trust in me." The Miqo'te leans backwards but the pinkette traps her hand, and fixes blue, torture-filled eyes on the silver ones of her comrade.

"I trust you… I do trust you… Y'shtola." The woman smiles gratefully and Lightning nods, then lets her head rest on Squall´s chest, while the man holds her tight, as if trying to give her strength. The man and the magician exchange looks and then Y´shtola positions herself, with both hands she takes the end of the arrow in her leg, and pulls her hardest, making Lightning yell and startling everyone.

"Is she okay?" The Miqo´te asks, the bloodied arrow now in her hands, and though Squall shakes his head, it´s Lightning the one who speaks, voice and body trembling, her hands making fists out of pain.

"I´m okay. I´m okay… please go on… I don´t know how much longer I can resist…" Squall´s hold on her becomes tighter. For someone so cold and usually apart from everyone, Terra is touched by the way he´s become quite protective of her, now noticing such attitude had appeared ever since they got Odin´s crystal and seems to be developing further. Now she wonders what could´ve happened to them back then, to make them bond this much?

"Terra?" Y'shtola´s voice takes her out of her reverie. "I need you to cast the most powerful spell you have on her, right after I pull the last arrow."

"M-me?" the shorter woman hesitates. "W-why me? You´re a stronger and more skillful spellcaster than me! You should be the one to do it!"

"Okay fine, will you take my place and take the arrow out of her, then?"

If possible, the Esper pales even more at the offering.

"N-no… no, no! I´ll cast the spell. I wouldn´t have the strength to pull it out!"

In spite of herself, Y'shtola smiles a bit at the younger woman´s reaction. "Great. Are you ready, now?"

Without waiting for a response, the Miqo´te pulls as hard as she can; this time, though, it´s harder than the first, the broken pieces embed themselves in the pinkette´s flesh, as if refusing to let go, but after a few eternal seconds of pulling and prodding and tearing tissue apart, the arrow finally gives in, and in its wake it produces a spurt of blood through both sides. Through the maddening process, Lightning has been biting her bloodied lips, grunting but forcing herself not to scream, knowing full well her yelling would make matters worse for her comrades. But the pain is just too unbearable even for her, and she passes out once more, her body limp on Squall´s arms, while the healing cloud envelops her whole.

"Lightning? Lightning!" The cadet shakes her body, afraid of what could´ve happened to her.

"Let her be, Squall." Y'shtola appeases him. "She needs the rest." The tall woman looks around them, appraising their surroundings. "It is quite dangerous if we were to linger here. Let us find a place where she can recover properly."

Squall nods but it´s Cloud the one taking action, as he passes his arms under the woman´s unconscious body, releasing his friend from his precious cargo, and carries Lightning bridal style, his eyes refusing to take a look at her still-healing wounds. After all, they´re a reminder of his own failure, since he thinks it should be him the one fighting Sephiroth, not her. The ex-soldier is his responsibility, after all.

But Squall cannot close his eyes, as they travel down his own body, now fully drenched in her precious blood. The sheer emotion the sight produces in him makes his eyes get darker.

 _I´m gonna kill that man for this._

"Let us first make her whole again." It´s Zidane the one approaching the cadet, understanding his feelings full well. "Let us protect her as she did us. Then you both can have your revenge. Because I´m almost sure she´ll be the first one to look for retaliation." The little man smirks at the last part, trying his hardest to lighten up the cadet´s spirits.

Squall nods but is not quite convinced, his rage growing as his eyes find the closed eyelids of the Savior, and the sight reminds him of the moment when her eyes were shining at him, filled with gratefulness he felt undeserved after he helped her defeat Snow and Odin.

 _I´m sorry I was of no use to you this time around._

oooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

A/N: I´m sorry PinKrystal for… uff… for this story. I swear to you I tried to make a story where Lightning and Sephiroth were a thing, but I just couldn´t picture Sephiroth being nice with Lightning, and instead, felt touched by the way Squall was there for her when they met Snow. Though the story is not over yet, so you can be sure they´ll interact a lot more. Only, I can promise you it won´t be nice… Soooo, I guess in a way they DO have a thing, right? It´s just that, well, it´s not a GOOD thing… hehe

On other issues, in my opinion, Lightning has become quite softer indeed, has changed over what she once was. Has she become weaker as well? I think not, and to be honest, I like it that she relies upon the rest of her peers a lot more, and worries about them a lot more too. I like it that, in Dissidia, they show her evolution through the games, show how a millennia of survival has changed her core: from being a bitchy girl throwing a tantrum (and I adored that side of her, don´t be mistaken!) to a full-grown, strong and determined woman who knows the value of her peers. If I loved her then, I adore her even more now. Too bad she doesn´t have much screen time in NT. I honestly have to say I laughed at Squall´s typical response, when she thanks him for being there for her during the battle, and he just says "whatever, I was just doing my job." Hahahah! That was totally priceless! But his words anyways made me think that they bonded in some way. I´m sorry I might´ve made an exaggeration of that bond.

I´m sorry too for all the gore, but still hope you liked it.

I don´t own Final Fantasy. I just write this out of fun.


	3. His truth

BAND OF BROTHERS

CHAPTER 3

Night has fallen upon Materia´s champions, so they set up camp, as far away from the gates as possible, least an enemy would fall upon them during the night. They take advantage of the large number of allies involuntarily gathering around the fallen pinkette, taking turns to stand guard and rest further than usual, while leaving Lightning in the middle of their tents. She had been cured quickly, but the blood loss had taken its toll on her, so she had barely awakened after her curing, only to fall into a deep slumber almost immediately after. Neither of her comrades wanted to test her healing capabilities, so they took shifts to guard the tents and guard her too. Surprising everyone around him, Squall volunteered to let the rest of his comrades sleep further, and took the longest guard, the one awaiting the new dawn.

It´s been a few hours since he awoke to the beginning of his shift, and as his ears strain to hear as much as he can, he lets the calmness of the night envelop him, though he can´t prevent himself from taking furtive glimpses towards the sleeping pinkette, concern making him frown. Squall would never recognize it in front of everyone, but Lightning´s kindness and gratefulness directed at him, when they defeated Odin and her brother-in-law, touched the sensitive spot hidden way deep inside his heart.

And once awakened, the damn thing wouldn´t stop throbbing on his chest, every time he saw the results of leaving her jump alone inside that gate.

He could´ve stopped her, or better, he could´ve followed her, but as the 'whatever teen' he´s become (according to Vaan and Zidane), he hadn´t cared much about her safety. But who would´ve thought about it? Who would´ve guessed someone as powerful as Lightning could be injured so badly?

His blue eyes leave her figure once more, and he sighs, looking up at the dark sky, enjoying for just a moment the billions of stars above him.

Although it´s still pitch dark, the sudden smell of the field lets him know dawn is approaching, when the crushing of a pair of boots gets him on high alert and makes him get up fast.

"Who lives?"

"Materia, goddess heiress of Cosmos." Responds the baritone voice. Squall recognizes it immediately and huffs. It´s one of his comrades´, but one he doesn´t trust much.

Kain Highwind.

The Dragoon approaches with his usual determined steps, his eyes completely fixed on the supine form of the beautiful pinkette, and just when he is about to reach her level, a very concerned and distrustful young man stands on his way.

"What do you want with her?" Squall asks, his eyes full of mistrust.

Kain isn´t deterred by his words and only smirks.

"That´s only for her and me to know. Stand aside, cadet. I don´t want to have a problem with a comrade. I need to see her."

But said cadet is not easily convinced. "Then you and I have a problem indeed because I won´t let you. Lightning is sleeping, she has been severely injured during her last battle and needs the rest quite badly."

His voice sound strained the moment he hears this, but Kain forces it to be as even as possible. "Who dared to injure her this much? Or should I rather ask, how many dared to injure her? Because knowing her, there´s not a single person who could hurt her like this on their own."

"That´s none of your business."

Kain growls and stands in front of the brunet teen, his eyes sending daggers and promising pain to no end, but to his credit, said teen stands his ground, refusing to move.

"Would you two stop it, please? This whole display of testosterone is making me nervous and won´t let me sleep." They both turn at hearing the husky voice of the injured woman, whose glare makes them falter a bit. "What do you want, Kain? Don´t you see everyone is sleeping?"

Once his eyes meet hers, he quickly walks to her side, pushing the teen with his shoulder, and his more than obvious haste makes the pinkette sit on the makeshift bed; she smiles brightly at him, relieved that her waiting had finally reached an end. But she loses her smile and her countenance darkens, her whole body becoming rigid, when the man, instead of holding her in his arms, as she would expect him to, kneels in front of her and fixes his eyes on her feet, as if ashamed of meeting her eyes, as if he didn´t feel worthy of her attention.

"Lightning… I…"

He doesn´t finish his sentence, and she doesn´t say anything either, understanding the reason behind his actions very quickly. A heavy silence falls upon the three, but then Squall notices he´s being completely ignored as if he had disappeared from their environment whatsoever, as the couple focuses their full attention on each other.

On his silent plea. On her silent demand.

Squall sighs, puts both hands behind his neck and leaves them alone. He knows what´s going to happen next is something he rather not witness.

A few minutes pass by, though it feels like an eternity, but finally the Dragoon ventures. He can´t stand it, her silence cuts him like a knife, if not even more painful.

"Who did this to you, Lightning?"

But she answers him with a question on her own. "Did you get to see her?"

Her words stabbed him in the gut, in the chest. He was expecting this, her cunning and intelligence always too good for them both. The silence that follows is like a fire inside his heart.

Rosa.

In the Duodecim cycle, they both were always aware that someday they were to return to their homeland, to their cherished and loved ones, and Lightning always knew there was someone Kain had met long before he met her. Did she expect him to forget his love for the princess, to replace it with his love for her? But truth be told, if he were smart enough, he would immediately pick the untamable soldier over the princess: he has shared with Lightning a lot more than with Rosa. With the woman he truly loves, his memory holds only soft whispers and small brushes of the hand, knowing full well she already belongs to another man; instead, with Lightning, he has shared blood, suffering, joy, kisses, flesh… and always the promise of something more…

Then why on Earth would his treacherous heart continue making the wrong choice?

"Lightning… I just…"

Like a tempest, the woman stands up, interrupting him, and walks away from him, as far away from the tents as possible, long strides hitting the dead ground underneath her feet. Though her countenance is unreadable, he knows her far too well to understand she has read his soul like an open book. She has read, through his hesitation, the decision his heart has made.

He knows he shouldn´t follow her, he doesn´t deserve an amazon, a magnificent Valkyrie like her, but even if he can´t love her the way he loves Rosa, he still loves her so very much, and her well being is always his concern.

His long strides make it easy for him to reach her level. "Who did this to you?"

"Why do you even care?" She snaps at him, her eyes always fixed on the horizon up ahead.

He doesn´t acknowledge her tone. "You know I care, Lightning. You well know I care. I came to you as soon as I heard you were badly injured."

She finally glares at the man. "Yeah? It certainly doesn´t look like it. I haven´t heard from you ever since this new cycle began, I even have the feeling you´ve been avoiding me."

"You know my mission is to protect Cecyl, I can´t run away from it."

"Then go after him." She spats at him.

"Look," he sighs, "I´m sorry I left you alone."

"You didn´t leave me alone." She almost growls at him, offended by his words. "As you can see, I have many comrades, brothers in arms, with me. So worry not. I´m well taken care of, my well being should not be of your concern."

The Dragoon still pushes on. "It won´t happen again, I promise I´ll try to be more around you."

"Why would you even care?" She raises her voice, doing her best effort to hide hurt from it, and evidently losing the battle. "It´s more than obvious you´ve made your choice, is it not? I´ll respect that, but then you should respect me and stay as far away from me as you can."

"But that´s the problem, Lightning. I don´t want to stay away from you. I admit I tried, but as soon as I knew you were hurt, I couldn´t stand it. I needed to know you were okay."

She suddenly stops and turns to face him, anger and the feeling of betrayal getting the best of her.

"What do you want from me, Kain? What do you expect me to say? A 'thank you for your effort'? You know me very well to know I won´t tell you such thing, nor fall for this stupid farce of yours."

He almost collides against her due to her harsh turn, but fortunately can stop the inertia of his body, though they stand face to face quite close to one another. The scent of her body, of her hair, invades his nostrils, making it harder for him to think coherently.

"It´s not a farce, Light. I just want to say I´m sorry for not being there for you."

"Well, you´ve said it, so don´t worry about me. I´m not your responsibility anymore."

"That´s actually my point. I was trying not to bother you much because I could sense in you this new determination. Lightning!" He takes her by the arm and forces her to turn and look at him, to stand very close to him, since the woman had already given him her back and started to walk away once more. "Please, understand. You´re not the woman I left in the last cycle, you´re far from the woman I knew back then, the sulking, angry and unpredictable woman I once met. You´ve changed so much, have grown magnificently. You don´t seem lost anymore, nor in the verge of collapse and making the world around collapse with you. I can see a determined, controlled and more powerful woman than before. A woman I admire a lot more, but one I clearly don´t deserve."

"And what do you mean by that?" She smirks. "Do I scare you? Make you feel uncomfortable because I don't need you to pick me up from the ground anymore? Because I don´t need you to save me as any damsel in distress would?" She forces her arm off of his hand.

"Of course not…"

"Then what is it? What do you want from me, Kain?!" She´s knows she´s yelling but still makes her hardest not to punch him in the face. She won´t give him the satisfaction to see her lose her temper, to see how much she´s hurting.

Her words make him desperate. Oh! How much he would rather fight against her, than receive yells and glares! "I just want to be by your side, Lightning, because rumor has it, Sephiroth has been looking for you, has fixed his aim on you. I´m worried he would find you and believe me, you wouldn´t want that. He´s such a mad man, I don´t know what he would do to you once he finds you. The only thing I want is to protect you from him."

She smirks and huffs at him, trying to sound entertained. "Well, news flash, pretty boy. He´s already found me, and as you can see, I survived. So there, I don´t need your help. Go pester someone else, because I´m just fine with the team I chose." She turns around once more and walks away, more than eager to leave his side.

"Lightning…"

"Goodbye, Kain, be happy with your non-bride. I really hope I don´t see you ever again, not even your manikin."

With that she walks forward, not looking back, not even once, while the Dragoon stands on the same spot, his voice leaving him. After a few seconds, heavy footsteps reach his side. Squall is level to him, accompanied by Cloud, and each one of them stands on each side of the tall man. Squall remains silent, but after a moment, Cloud speaks for them both.

"She went against four enemies, one of them being Sephiroth." His voice was low, almost reverent, while the three sets of eyes were locked in the retreating figure. "They tortured her, bled her out almost to the death. And still, she was able to defeat them all."

Kain opens his eyes wide at the information, but before he can say anything else, Squall is the one who speaks first.

"How stupid can be a man, to let a woman like that go?"

Without waiting for a response, the two friends walk after the Savior, leaving the Dragoon all by himself.

oooooooOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo

"Lightning? Squall? Where did you go?"

Cloud had been walking for only five minutes, or so he would think when his two comrades had just vanished into thin air… or was it like that? Because it felt rather as if he had been the one vanishing.

It had happened so fast, he and Squall reached Lightning´s side, neither she nor them saying anything at all, and the three walked together, falling into a comfortable silence for quite a long time when something reached Cloud´s ears. He just stopped a few seconds while his peers continued their walking, when suddenly the ground had illuminated at his feet and then he felt like falling, without being able to warn his friends in front of him. Without being able to yell to neither Lightning nor Squall to help him.

Now Cloud walks a rather strange path, though a magnificent one he must admit. The land is full of green grass and flowers of many colors, with a deep blue sky above his head, nothing else to see beyond the horizon, the sight illuminating his distressed heart. He wonders, for the umpteenth time, whose memory would this be.

"I would never expect you to seek me out, Cloud."

That voice… that loathed voice… he turns around just in time to clash blades with his enemy.

Sephiroth.

His dark, single-wing is opened up wide at his side, making him look even more terrifying. Cloud´s arms tremble after the force of the impact, but an image flashes before his eyes, giving him back his desire for revenge, and that erases doubt and fear from his heart. The sight of Lightning´s battered and bloodied body, cradled in Squall´s arms. The so many bleeding injuries, the art of the mad man in front of him.

"Why do you insist on hurting her? On hurting Lightning?" He raises the Busted Sword and clashes it against Masamune, grinding steel against steel, which creates sparks on its wake. "Stop picking up on her, it´s me the one you want to kill!"

The ash-blond male chuckles at his words. "It´s funny, she said the exact same thing. Are you sure you´re not siblings?"

Cloud growls at his words and slashes with all his strength, as sparks dance around them with every strike.

"Stop making fun of me, and answer already! Why her? Why would you want to hurt her the most?!"

The smirk never leaves Sephiroth with every attack, but his eyes are ablaze at the new challenge. Cloud attacks once more but the one-winged angel moves away with practiced ease and slashes with mighty force. As the swords collide, the strength of the blow sends Cloud flying away from him. The blond does a summersault and falls on his feet, the inertia carrying him a little further away from the ash-blond male. The moment Sephiroth speaks, he does so with all the calm there is in this world.

"This is not personal, Cloud. Well, what you and I have is, but my battle against your peers isn´t personal. We have a mission to fulfill, an enemy to conquer, and to your surprise, it is a common enemy. But with Lightning…" The tall, imposing male pauses as if to collect his emotions and try to give them form as words, the action makes his devilish smile grow wider. "There´s been a long time since I met someone who could meet my blade for extended periods, who could fight against me one on one, and especially one who wouldn´t die nor be defeated all too soon. Not even you can last that long. Whenever I fight with her, the possibility of being defeated is always there, and it chills me to the bone, sends shivers down my spine." As he speaks, his emotions run wild in his eyes, and he licks his lips, almost in anticipation. "Fighting her is such a pleasant sensation. And oh! Whenever I see her shedding her precious blood, or watch her suffer… it´s like electricity running all over my skin. It´s like an overwhelming need is born inside my chest and my loins, a special type of craving…" He chuckles, but it´s mirthless, more like he´s reliving the moment with every word. "Cloud, I cannot explain the feeling with words… it feels as if, every time I hear her scream, her strained voice fills the empty space inside my chest. It´s as if tasting her blood would be like tasting the most exquisite wine there´s ever been in human history. My body, my soul and my heart sing and are reborn whenever I fight with her, whenever I´m about to kill her…"

Even though Sephiroth´s posture is relaxed, Cloud can easily see a tinge of madness behind the steel-gray eyes, and the realization repulses him to no end.

"You´re totally sick, Sephiroth, did you know that?"

The man chuckles softly. "So I´ve been told. But I still refuse to believe it. It´s the world, Cloud, the world that´s gone crazy, walking slowly towards their own destruction, and knowing it, but not doing anything to prevent it. So who is crazier? The human race for trying to destroy the world they live in? Or me for trying to prevent it, by destroying the human race?"

Immediately after his last word, Sephiroth propels himself towards the blond. The tall man moves so fast Cloud almost misses his strike to the side. Fortunately, he raises the Buster Sword just in time to clash it against Masamune, stopping the surprise attack and saving his neck from being separated from his shoulders with a slash. He raises the immense blade and clashes it against his enemy, seeking retaliation, but Sephiroth´s smile lingers; he spins on his own axis, the movement giving more impulse to his attack, and as he clashes swords once more, he sends the blond reeling backwards.

"I do hope you´re better at defending Lightning´s honor than your small blonde friend. She was rather easy to dismiss, did you know? Such a pity I only needed a few blows to send her to the ground."

The tainting does its magic. Cloud is seething in rage at this new information, blinding ire filling his sight.

"You hurt Terra too? Arrgh! You´ll pay for this!" He strikes the hardest he can, but Sephiroth allows the blades to only brush, making the shorter man stagger, and kicks him in the abdomen, and then hits his face. Cloud falls, his lip bleeding, but rolls on the ground with the momentum and stands up fast, his sword ready for the next attack.

The one-winged angel points his long blade at the man. "It seems I drew first blood."

Cloud growls at the tainting. "It only means I´ll get the last strike. I´ll defeat you for sure."

They both ready their postures for the next round, when suddenly Sephiroth looks up, alerted by his senses, and raises his blade; immediately after, it clashes against a gunblade, and then against another. Squall falls on top of the man through the same gate as Cloud had, hits the Masamune with his Revolver and does a summersault, falling away from him, in front of his comrade, and giving space for the next assault. Following the cadet´s attack, Lightning´s gunblade, the beautiful and magnificent Overture, clashes with Masamune, sparks flying around them, but she keeps the pressure against it, meeting eyes with her opponent.

Sephiroth´s gray orbs are suddenly illuminated by her figure. "Alas! It´s true what they say, after all: all paths lead to Rome, just like all paths gladly lead me to you. You´re most welcomed, Lightning, I´m so very pleased to see you´re completely restored to your full strength. We were talking about you not a moment ago."

Lightning smirks at his words. "I bet you were peeing on your pants by the memory of our last encounter."

Sephiroth chuckles at her insult. "Quite on the contrary, it was a rather pleasant memory I was sharing with my friend there."

"Stop it, Light! It´s my fight! I was the one meeting blades with him!" Cloud gives a step forward, but Squall stops him with a hand and a shake of his head.

Both enemies push harder and then break contact, jumping away from one another.

"I understand, Cloud." Lightning apologizes, though her eyes never leave the imposing man in front of her. "I´m sorry we busted in, but I need to have a word with him."

Sephiroth hums, his eyes fixed on hers. "I knew you had a thing for me, Lightning. Your eyes and your body language speak volumes."

She seethes in rage at his words but refuses to let it show. "Tch. Don´t even get me started about what I really think of you, instead, there are a few things you need to clarify."

His sickening smirk never leaves his face, as he shrugs. "I already told Cloud why I adore fighting against you, don´t make me repeat it in front of you or it´ll make me blush."

"I really don´t care about the lies you told my friend, nor if he believed you. Last time I saw you, you spoke of a beast looming over all of us, of my blood feeding this earth. I want to know the truth behind those words, I want to believe those aren´t words spoken by a man who has lost his mind. So tell me, what have you found out?"

His smile lingers for a moment, but then he grows serious. "So, you´re telling me you don´t believe in Materia´s words? What about Spiritus' desires? Do you believe in him?"

Lightning loses her fighting stance, as her eyes remain fixated on the tall man. "I tend to distrust any god or goddess that orders me around. I know there´s more to this than what they let us know, and have the feeling you´ve found out something you don´t want to share with the rest of us."

He smirks, though this time sadly. The steel-gray eyes look up to the blue sky, and then back to her.

"You want to know what I know? Then fight me."

With that, he jumps towards her, seeks her out as fast as he can, and Lightning readies her blade, but right before he reaches her, Cloud stands in front of him, clashing swords with him and redirecting the strike. Sephiroth jumps backwards with the strength of the blow, and as he falls, the second gunblade hits his side. The man only growls, but slashes against Squall, clashing his blade and sending him flying backwards. The young man falls on one knee and recovers fast.

Sephiroth places a hand over his injured side and sees his palm dampened in his blood. But there is no rage in his eyes the moment he finds Lightning standing at the ready, and instead, the smirk returns to his lips. "I see you do have a couple of chivalrous knights seeking to defend your honor. But tell me, did the third knight appear after you? Did the Dragoon you so desired to see finally found you?"

Her face, ears and neck burn in anger at his words.

She screams and propels forward to clash blades against him, creating sparks with each blow, her movements so fast, Sephiroth can barely keep up with her, forcing Cloud and Squall to remain behind, unable to find a space between their attacks to support her. But unwillingly, she´s shown her weakness, and Sephiroth is an expert at taking advantage of it. A movement of his blade make her break her guard, and with his free hand, he takes her by the collar; using his body as an axis, he makes her fly sideways, and slams her back against the bed of flowers, the impact forcing all the air from her lungs. Having her lying on the grass at his feet gives him leverage, so as she coughs, trying her hardest to get some air, he straddles over her at the waist and places his Masamune over her throat.

"You´re distracted, woman. You shouldn´t fight while distracted by the man you love."

Through her plight, she glares daggers at him. "It was… it was you! It was you the one who… told Kain!"

He chuckles at her. "Bingo. In his defense, let me tell you he seemed very much concerned once he found out you almost died. Now stand still, would you? I´ll show you what I mean by your blood feeding the earth."

"No." She mimics his smirk. "I´ll be the one to show you." She moves fast to embed her knife on his skin, but he moves faster, alerted already.

"That trick won´t work on me anymore, woman. You should know about that." He´s about to cut her throat when his instincts scream at him, and he´s forced to move fast, away from her, as the Revolver and the Buster Sword seek out for him, Squall and Cloud coming to the rescue. Cloud clashes swords against the ash-blond male, forcing him away from the pinkette, while Squall stands in front of Lightning, offering his hand. She coughs a little bit more and takes his palm, allowing him to push her up.

"Thanks."

"Don´t mention it."

"Squall, I…"

"Really, don´t mention it."

Lightning chuckles at the inability of the teen to bond with words but respects him anyways. In a way, their shared despise and overall lack of need for words to understand each other, are what has made them quite a unique team. They´re about to attack Sephiroth once more, when suddenly, the once pristine sky, the deep blue that had been surrounding them, is broken by ribbons of black energy traversing it, consuming it. They all look up at the sky, alerted.

"What… what´s happening?" Cloud asks, but Sephiroth answers him with a laugh.

"It´s already started, and you can see it now. That´s what I mean, my fair Valkyrie, whenever I speak of using your blood. It´s our blood, the blood of the mightiest fighters, the one who will awake the beast." With that, the man walks backwards, reaching for the luminous gate behind him.

"Sephiroth!" Lightning screams at him, and he smiles at her in return.

"Don´t worry. I´ll wait for you at Spiritus's side. In case you want to continue what we have." With that, he leaves the group of friends, the echo of his laughter lingering in the air as he disappears.

ooooooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

A/N: Wow! This one came a lot faster than the last! I kinda like it, what do you think?

In between the many things I didn't like of this new Dissidia, one of the things I miss the most is the bonding between Lightning and Kain, because this time, they don´t even look at one another, even less talk, when in Duodecim they had become quite close, Kain always checking out on her, scolding her whenever she was sulking… but now, there´s a huge mountain of silence and indifference in between these two. Well, this is my filling of the blanks regarding their relationship. Hope you liked it!

Here are responses to your fantastic reviews:

From i (Guest): You´re totally right! They should explain why she´s paired up with Sephiroth! I mean, they just blew out the T.V. with their amazingness! But there´s no story behind it, we need it! We need it! I will try to explain why he has this sick fixation on her, one such that even her teammates are very aware of, I just hope my explanation is of your liking. And yeah, the only way I can see them interact is by he being rather sadistic with her. I just hope I don´t get too over the fence with it! It´s curious how it would seem you were reading my mind over there in your comment! Since this chapter was already drawn in my head before I read your comments, yay! You´re a mind reader!

Thank you so much for your words! You totally made my day!

From jolly P (Guest): Yeah! We do need more stories of Sephiroth and Lightning, right? They blew out the T.V. so much with their awesome battle, they made us want a lot more from them! Thank you!

From Henry: Thank you so much! I´m really excited to know you´re liking the story, and even happier to see I could keep the characters at least close to the originals! You made me so happy!

I don´t own Final Fantasy. I just write this out of fun.


	4. In Between Gateways

BAND OF BROTHERS

CHAPTER 4

It´s midday, the sun high up in the sky, sending them their strongest rays, but for some odd reason, the sun in this dimension doesn´t really burn her skin. It barely makes her warm. Thankfully, because with all the rocks and lack of shade, Dissidia could´ve been a real inferno. Instead, the world around her is calm and quiet, and somewhat refreshing, as it always is in between their travel through magical worlds of memories, she and her comrades always cherishing these quiet moments like water in a desert.

The tall pinkette is currently sitting in a boulder, enjoying such quiet times, her long, strong legs crossed one over the other, her posture a little bit relaxed… but only a bit, because she is always on high alert. The beautiful Overture is lying at her lap, already clean, polished and sharpened, while baby blue eyes of its owner are lost over the imposing red castle in the horizon. But though the Savior is looking at the impossible construction, her eyes aren´t actually seeing it, her mind lost in a sea of thoughts and possibilities.

Without previous warning, her posture goes more rigid, her eyes closing like slits, though, after a moment, she relaxes her shoulders and a ghost of a smile is drawn on her pink lips. Immediately after, a pair of soft but well-toned arms envelop her, accompanied with a small giggle that reaches her ears.

"Guess who it is?!"

Lightning smirks, though can´t hide the amusement in her tone.

"Please, Tifa, I heard you coming a mile ago. You suck at stealth, did you know that?"

The addressed woman moans in disappointment, and after giving the pinkette a small squeeze, lets her go. Lightning turns to look at her, but the first one to appear on her line of vision is a smaller brunette, dressed in a ceremonial suit, and who kneels in front of her with soft, elegant and well-studied movements, and whose polychromatic eyes are fixed on crystal blue ones, while she makes herself comfortable in the uncomfortable ground.

"I don´t like it when you´re sulking, Light."

This time the addressed woman chuckles.

"Please, Yuna, don´t tell me you´ve taken Kain´s place at pestering me with that. You don´t fit the pestering type."

"That´s what I told her." The third brunette, Rinoa, intervenes, whose long, raven mane tosses wildly in the wind, and Lightning looks to address her.

"On the other hand, you do look like the perfect image of a pestering kid."

"Hey!"

Tifa laughs out loud while Yuna only giggles, the former sitting on the ground next to the latter, cross-legged.

"But seriously, Light, you are sulking," Yuna redirects the conversation, "and it hurts us every time we see you like that."

"So we came to cheer you up." Riona finishes as chirpy as she can get.

A delicate eyebrow rises. "Really?"

"Yes! Of course, we do! We are friends after all!"

The vivacious attitude, as well as the all-out declaration, makes the other brunettes falter, Tifa doing an obvious sign with her hand to make her friend stop, knowing full well the infamous temper of the pinkette, but Lightning only shakes her head, entertained.

"Are you all hipper like this all the time? Now I understand why Squall refuses to talk at all. You truly talk for both."

"Hey! Would you stop picking on the beautiful girl?" Rinoa growls but then laughs at Lightning´s first attempt at a joke. "If you keep behaving like this, we won´t tell you what we did for your benefit."

The pinkette smirks, entertained. "Really? Then, I pray, do tell what have you three been doing in my benefit?"

The brunettes´ interchange amusing looks, until it´s Tifa the one to speak up, her words reinforced with a punch in the air.

"We kicked Kain´s ass!"

Lightning´s eyes open wide at the declaration. "You did what?"

As if not noticing the glare she´s received, Tifa keeps the explanation going. "We heard the way that jerk behaved with you, how he treated you. Therefore, since we´re friends, almost sisters, we stood up for you and gave him your regards in the form of our fists!"

"Or magic." Rinoa continued, but Lightning only sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Please Yuna, oh please tell me you weren´t with them."

"I was with them." The smaller brunette looks apologetic. "But in my defense, I completely disagreed with their plan."

Lightning shakes her head, but for the love of Etro, she can´t find it in her to be angry with her friends. "Well, thank you guys, for thinking about me when doing such a stupid thing. I´m just glad he didn´t hurt you."

"He never would! Kain is such a gentleman, he took the blows like a true man after we told him the reason for his punishment." Rinoa speaks, almost reverential.

"Please don´t let Squall hear you saying that. He already doesn´t tolerate him much. I don´t know how much glare he can endure if he gets to hear your opinion about him." Lightning scolds her, trying her hardest to hide a smile.

"Well, what´s a girl supposed to do?" The chirpy brunette shrugs, not quite apologetic. "I know I´m with Squall, and I really love him, but that doesn't mean I can´t look at the menu, right?"

"Oh yeah! I totally agree! I mean, I adore Cloud too, but girl! You can´t deny Kain has that thing that can get you all crazy just by looking at him!" Says Tifa while she winks at Lightning, and then does a high-five with Rinoa. Yuna blushes at their exchange, looking apologetic once more, while Lightning shakes her head and chuckles. As goofy as they are, being around them always lifts her spirits, if only for a moment.

"Look, girls, I´m thankful for you trying to defend my honor, but I´d love it if, instead of kicking my ex´s butts, start fighting with me against our true enemies."

"Well, actually, that´s why we´re here for." Yuna finally speaks her mind. "We came here to accompany you, to be your teammates instead of the boys. We girls should be united, don´t you think?"

Lightning feels thankful for the offering when an intruding memory of Sephiroth hurting Terra with such ease invades the pinkette´s mind, and she feels worry creeping up her spine at the possibility.

"I really wouldn´t want you to be around me when Sephiroth decides he wants to end our battle."

"You think we can´t handle him? I´ve already fought against him, remember?" Tifa speaks up, her tone rather offended.

"Yeah, and you lost, remember that one?" Lightning answers back, her tone a bit accusatory. "Cloud can barely keep him at bay, but whenever he gets all excited during a battle, it´s almost unbeatable."

"About that…" Yuna intervenes, worry plastered on her countenance. "Cloud told Tifa what Sephiroth said about you."

The pinkette sighs. "How many times do I have to tell that blond he shouldn´t believe all of Sephiroth´s lies? He was just trying to take him off guard, and mind you, he did it quite magnificently. Cloud should never believe a word he says."

"But… but if what he said is true…" Yuna protests.

"And that mad man is after you…" Rinoa follows.

"Then you should be protected all the time…" Tifa finishes with determination.

"By your group of best friends!" The three girls declare in unison.

A vein throbs in the pinkette´s head, but Lightning is a force of nature no-one should take lightly, so she raises her voice, trying her hardest to get inside their thick heads.

"Do you know what my group of best friends will do during a battle against him?" The pinkette sends glares at the trio as if reinforcing her statement. "Make me so very worried for every blow he sends your way, it´ll distract me and make me even more vulnerable, weakened, and endangered. You´ll be the death of me if you insist on staying by my side whenever I fight against him."

"Are you trying to tell us we will be a nuisance more than a help?" Tifa asks, trying to sound offended, a tone that makes Lightning sigh and shake her head. How stubborn can they be?

"Look…" She sighs, growing tired of all the insistence. Why can´t she just send them away, like she used to? "I know you are strong, very, very strong, all of you. But Tifa, you well know the deep shit this man is, how incredibly powerful he is and how he would never stop from hurting any of you, even when you´re already defeated, even when he might be severely injured. His madness, his utter obsession for torture, drives him forward and only someone as crazy as he can keep him at bay."

"You mean like you?" Rinoa asks, trying to make a point but hesitating when the light blue orbs ablaze with warning glare at her.

"I don´t know if it´s me. I don´t know whether I´ll be able to keep him at bay long enough next time, because I´ve tried, and most of the times, I´ve failed."

"You can´t call it a failure when all the times you´ve fought against him, you´ve come victorious." Yuna intervenes, trying her hardest to look for the positive side, but Lightning knows better.

"I couldn´t call it victorious either when he´s already brought me so close to my death."

"Oh Light, please!" Tifa is growing tired of this conversation. Of the pinkette´s refusal. "We want to help you! We promised the guys we would be the girl-power who would be your safeguard!"

Lightning´s eyes soften a little at her friend´s voice.

"I know, Tifa. And believe me, I´m deeply touched by your sweet intentions. But please try to understand too. If I were to fight against one of the strongest of our foes, it would be very hard for me not to worry about any of you. Very hard indeed."

"Then don´t." Rinoa pushes harder.

"It´s rather impossible for me not to. You´re my friends and I…"

"I don´t mean don´t worry." Rinoa cuts her off, an unknown determination embedded in her voice. "We know you, or at least the girls seem to know you, to know how deeply involved in the others´ safety you are. To be honest, I had never met anyone who worried about her partners as much as you do. Believe it or not, I do understand your need for fighting all by yourself, because you can´t prevent your need of protecting the rest of us at any cost, even during your hardest moments. I know someone who is almost like you, believe me, I´m quite familiar with the type. But I have something to propose to you." Dark eyes are ablaze in determination, just like the baby blue ones, and the pinkette grows curious.

"What is it?"

"Let us show you we are strong enough to fight by your side, strong enough to prove you there´s no reason to worry about our safety. We´ll be a good match."

Lightning hesitates a moment but then smiles. She would never believe that, because she has seen them fight, or at least most of them. But she can at least offer them that much. So, without words, she nods softly, and Tifa jumps up in glee, while Rinoa hugs Yuna tightly, and the latter, once she´s freed, takes the pinkette´s hands.

"You won´t regret it, Light, you´ll see we´ll be able to protect you."

"Okay, Yuna. I believe you."

"Yeah! You´ll see!" Tifa yells and walks forward, followed closely by Rinoa, while Yuna pulls Lightning from her seat, prompting her to follow them. The four girls walk towards the camp, the rest of their peers already making groups and choosing paths. Lightning allows them to keep walking, while she stays behind, looking at them, uneasy when Y´shtola approaches her, and Lightning welcomes her with a smile. Both women stay silent for a moment, accompanying each other while contemplating the ruckus the camp has become until the Miqo´te interrupts the tall woman´s thoughts.

"Such a fine display of friendship and care we were able to witness."

"Oh? So you did witness it?" Lightning can´t help but smirk, and a mirror of such gesture appears on the other tall woman´s face.

"Quite hard to miss, given the fact that such young women are hardly silent or even discreet."

The pinkette huffs, entertained by the truth behind such words. "Point taken."

"Instead, there are a few who speak fluently through their silences." Y´shtola eyes meaningfully towards Lightning´s back, forcing her to turn her head around, only to find Kain´s eyes fixed on her form. Lightning´s eyes become like slits, but Y´shtola´s lips come uncomfortably close to her ear, distracting her of her objective.

"Silence is bliss, but sometimes it hurts a lot more than it heals." The Miqo´te smiles at the woman, and walks away, leaving her to her thoughts.

Kain´s eyes are fixed on the pinkette´s form. Since the moment his eyes had lied on her again, he hasn´t been able to keep his thoughts away from the raging Valkyrie, and his heart is a turmoil of pain and confusion.

He loves her. He truly does. The indomitable soul, the blazing fire of her temper, the sheer passion burning inside her heart, one that manifests in the destruction she leaves in her wake, or in the bloodied path she creates whenever she´s determined to protect.

But he knows his heart belongs to Rosa, he´s always known, and it´s a pull he just can´t ignore. The moment his eyes meet with hers, his heartbeat quickens, even more so at noticing her stare full of rage, of demands he cannot answer.

"It must be very hard when you want something so dearly, and that something just keeps pulling away." Squall speaks, startling Kain slightly.

"Well, we are lucky, then," Cloud answers, as if it were only the two of them minus the Dragoon, "that our girls are quite fond of us. Fond enough to tolerate our inability to reach out to them."

Squall nods, his eyes fixed on the form of the raven-haired beauty dressed in blue, and his countenance darkens. "Yeah… if it were for me and my stupidity… I´m not good at reaching out. I´m not good at reading her… if it were for me and only me, I´m sure I would´ve lost her forever."

Kain´s eyes open wide at the cadet´s statement, realization hitting him full force, and he sees, with a sudden awareness in his head, how Lightning´s eyes close and she turns around, her back facing him, and her movement prompts him into action. Kain runs towards the woman, and her two female friends (Tifa and Rinoa) place themselves in his path, unwilling to let him pass, to let him reach the Savior.

But not this time.

Kain is just too determined on talking to the woman, so he jumps high in the sky, and lands in front of the pinkette, startling her and effectively blocking her path.

"Kain! You moron, I almost attacked you!" But his pained expression lessens her complaints. Though her anger lingers.

"We need to talk."

"There´s nothing for us to talk." She tries to walk past him, but he gives a step in her direction, blocking her path again, and taking her softly by the arm. The warm gesture makes her shiver, and, angry at her response, she withdraws her arm as if his touch had burned her. In a way, it had.

"Please, Light. Let me go with you, let me fight by your side."

"I don´t need you to protect me."

He shakes his head. "I´m well aware you don´t, and believe me I´m not trying to protect you, I just want to be fighting by your side, just like we used to."

Her tone is still serious. "Well, let me tell you your company is not quite well taken among us if the punches of my friends in your face gave you a clue about their feelings for you. Besides, haven´t you heard? We made a girl-team. We don´t need you."

Kain´s brow furrows at the new information. "You very well know you won´t be able to defeat Sephiroth if you go along with the girls." Her glare makes him realize his mistake. "I-I mean, you´ll put them in danger with that mad man coming after you. And I know you don´t want that."

Lightning sighs. He has touched a sensitive spot and they both know it.

"Please, Light. Just let me go with you. I promise you I won´t interfere; instead, I´ll help you protect the rest."

Realizing he´s touched the core of her worries, he risks a move and gets closer to her, his hand once more taking her arm softly, and his lips almost touching her ear, making her shiver. She can feel his warm breath on her, his warm body so close to hers, his chest almost touching her, and notices his breathing has become labored, realizing he is falling intoxicated by the perfume in her skin. She knows him too well. And when she sees his hand reaching for her chin, she realizes one more thing: she, too, is falling for him, inebriated by his proximity.

"Light…"

"Don´t move, Kain. Don´t you even dare." Even when the words are said in a whisper, a trembling hesitation embedded in them, the commanding tone never leaves them, so the Dragoon knows all too well they´re a warning, one that if he were to unheard it, the repercussions will be grave. Especially when they´re followed by a glare that cancels the wet invitation of her lips and the pink in her cheeks.

"If you touch me, you´ll lose that arm, I can promise you that."

"Lightning, please… what can I do to make you forgive me? I´d do anything."

"Why would you want me to forgive you, Kain?" She spats at him, raising her voice. "Please first ask yourself this. Why do you want me?"

"I…" He lowers his head, and his other hand reaches out to hers, but she pulls it back, freeing her already entrapped arm and unwilling to let him touch her further. "Please forgive me, Lightning. I´m such a stupid fool for not giving you what you want, what you deserve. It´s just… I feel my body aching, my heart throbbing every time I see you without being able to touch you. Forgive me if I need you like this, as I do, but I… I can´t stop..." He doesn´t finish his sentence, growing concerned that he could hurt her further, could make matters worse.

His words clench her heart tightly because she needs him too, she can feel that pull inside her body. A pull so hard to ignore. But she won´t let him see weakness in her eyes, never again. Her heart breaks, but her voice is steady.

"I forbid you to speak to me, Kain Highwind, unless it is to tell me you don´t love Rosa anymore, that you won´t be searching for her ever again, even if we´re apart, never to meet in Dissidia." The strength and determination in her voice grow with every word she speaks. "I forbid you to even look me in the eye unless it is to tell me your heart is free of such burden."

Kain looks at her with pain in his eyes, hers digging holes in his soul, and then baby blue orbs close in disappointment, knowing full well he just can´t give her what she´s asked of him. Kain can´t stand the hurt in her countenance, so he gives a step backwards, allowing her some space.

Lightning looks up at his sad visage, and is about to come closer to him, already missing his proximity, but her will, her still aching and angry heart, prevents her from it.

"You know what´s the worst part of this sick game of yours?" She asks him, venom and sadness dripping from her every word. "That you very well know you´re in love with another man´s woman, with someone who will never be yours. That alone is the worst evidence of how much you hate yourself. And you know what else, Kain? I might not be good enough for you, but I definitely will not be part of this ill game of torture." And with that, she walks away from him, leaving him rooted in his spot, determined on not looking back.

"Way to go, girl!" Rinoa approaches her, palming her back, while Tifa gives her a high-five, both drawing a small smile from the taller woman, while they walk away from the camp. But three figures prevent them from taking any step further.

"Yuna! You don´t mean to go with them, right?"

"And why would you think she wouldn´t follow us, Tidus?" It´s Rinoa the one demanding.

"Because it will be us the one accompanying Lightning, not you." Cloud responds, though his eyes are fixed on Tifa. "Sephiroth is too dangerous for any of you, and you know it. We three will be there for Lightning, to help her to defeat that monster."

"And why would you think I need any help?" Lightning intervenes, offended.

"Please, Light. You know what we mean." Squall speaks to her, his eyes full of worry, one that she has never seen behind her friend´s usually calm exterior. The look of his countenance disarms her. She understands and knows they´re right. Kain tried the same with her, understanding her concern for their well-being. So she shakes her head and walks past the three young men.

"Take a decision already. Whoever wants to accompany me, I´ll be waiting up ahead."

Lightning tries to walk away, but Rinoa jumps at her and takes her by the arm.

"No way, missy! You´re not getting rid of me!"

"Rinoa!" Squall takes her by the arm, but the maiden forces his hand off of his. "Please, I´ve seen what he can do, and you´re no match for him."

The brunette glares at her boyfriend. "I really feel offended by your words, you know? How can you be with me if you don´t trust me?"

"But…"

"If you speak up again, we´re done." The determination embedded in her dark eyes makes the cadet hesitate. It´s a cheap move, but he knows her too well to know she means it.

"I won´t be able to protect you."

Rinoa clenches Lightning´s arm tighter. "I don´t need you to protect me, Squall. I´ve got my pals. You will see, we´ll defeat anyone who stands in our way."

"Rinoa," the pinkette tries to intervene, "I think you should hear what he says."

Even though she doesn´t let her arm go, the brunette sends a deep glare to the tall woman. "You didn´t let Kain convince you. Why would you want me to hear him out, now?"

Lightning sighs and shrugs, glancing apologetically towards her cadet friend, who´s at a loss of words.

Tifa pushes Cloud lightly by the shoulder and tries a smile. "I really hope I don´t have to threaten you like that."

Cloud looks mortified. "I only worry about you. You´ve fought Sephiroth before, I don´t need to tell you stories about him. I just don´t understand why you´re going along with this."

She winks at him and kisses him lightly on the lips. "Then don´t try, and just trust me." With that, she walks towards the pinkette, grabs the other arm, and pulls her forward. "C´ mon, my friend! Let´s defy destiny!" Both brunettes pull Lightning by the arms, forcing her to walk forward and away from the group of boys.

"Yuna! What will it be?" Rinoa yells at the third brunette, whose hands are entrapped by Tidus´s bigger ones.

"I´m coming!" But the blond wouldn´t let go.

"Are you sure? Please think it through." The youngster is really concerned, but Yuna uses Tifa´s tactic. Gives him a soft, though lingering kiss on the lips, and then pulls away.

"The girls are right, you should trust us a bit more. We might not be as strong as you are, but that doesn´t mean you have to take care of us all the time." And with that, she runs towards the group of girls, ready for their next adventure. Lightning and the rest welcome her with a smile and cheers, but the tall pinkette refuses to look back, knowing full well they´re leaving behind a group of very concerned and very weary hearts.

Feelings that she shares with them.

 _Don´t worry, guys. I´ll make sure your girls stay safe, even at the cost of my life._

ooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

They´ve been walking for a few minutes now, their previous camping already lost in the horizon, Tifa´s and Rinoa´s chatting and bickering entertaining the other two friends, while Yuna smiles at them, sometimes trying to settle things among the chirpy brunettes, and others just enjoying their company, while Lightning walks a few steps behind them, enjoying them as well but all too aware of their exposure. She does trust her friends, but she´s unwilling to trust their luck.

And that luck is about to run out.

The friends pass through the luminous gateways, and find themselves in an asteroid of some sort, with green grass and small rivers that shine their pristine waters. The girls are awed by the simple beauty of the place.

"It reminds me of something." Lightning says.

"Have you been in here?" Asks Yuna, while the other two brunettes walk beyond them, playfully enjoying the view.

"No, no, but I think Y'shtola told me of this place. It looks like the place where Onion Knight was born."

Yuna is about to respond when a voice startles her.

"Well, well, guess who´s come out knocking at our door?" A voice above their heads startles the group of friends. "Sephiroth´s beautiful pet!"

The unwelcomed innuendo reaches their ears, and Lightning´s group of friends turns around to meet their matching foes. Four enemies are coming behind a massive rock in the middle of the asteroid, with Garland at the very front, followed by Jecht, Vayne, and Kefka´s always-loathed face leering at them from above the rock.

"Who are you calling 'pet', you buffoon?" It´s Tifa the one sending the first challenge, while everyone takes their battle stances.

"Yes, please do clarify. Who´s supposed to be my pet? The strawberry blonde or the brunette?" The devilish voice coming from behind them sends shivers down every friend´s back, and slowly, all too slowly, they turn around, except for Lightning, who closes her eyes, gathering her composure as well as her strength.

Because right in front of them, standing on top of a boulder, it´s the tall form of the silver-haired mad man, with the frame of his large Masamune flashing bright under the sunlight, and a devilish smirk plastered on his features.

Lightning looks intently at each foe, and then allows her eyes to meet the silver orbs of her enemy, whose smile becomes larger the moment he fixes his stare on her.

"Right…"

ooooooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

A/N: this is a rather calm, easy-going chapter. I´ve liked the way the girls interact with each other in the game, though I miss Yuna´s and Tifa´s interaction with Lightning (and can easily imagine Rinoa´s playful attitude around Light! She kinda reminds me of Vanille), so, this chapter is in honor for those fantastic girl-friends of my life, who have always cheered me up, at least as much as I allow them to. They´re truly a treasure!

I hope you didn´t think the chapter to be too lame, because I promise the next chapter is full of action (and blood), and it´s almost done, so don´t worry!

Here are responses to your fantastic reviews:

i: Oooh thank you, thank you so much for your beautiful comment! I´m so excited to know you´re liking the story so far! Honestly, I was going to leave Kain off the story, but you´re right, he´s Lightning´s perfect man! Though I won´t let him an easy path, so, just as I´m making Lightning suffer a bit, he´ll have to earn his way to her heart again, right? I´m sorry I haven´t continued Arms Wide Open, but you know, author´s block, though I´ve got the next chapter almost finished, so I hope I´ll post it soon enough. Thank you again! Your comments keep me writing!

Henry: I agree with you, Sephiroth is very, very creepy, and he´s gonna get creepier around her with each chapter, hehehe… I´ll try to keep the grossness at low levels, though I can´t really promise. About Kain, I´ve seen many people like him, that being the reason why he stayed around, even when I had planned on taking him out of the story quite sooner. So let´s see if he wakes up and earns her heart back, shall we? Thanks for your comment!

Queenee: Welcome to this fanfic, then! I honestly don´t like Rosa much, but it´s rather for Kain loving her than for her character per se, so I´ll try to be gentle with her, I promise. I like Squall too, being the first FF character I loved, but as you said, I can´t picture them in a romantic relationship, rather on a student-mentor one, so we´ll see how it plays in here. On the other hand, thank you so much for the suggestions! Because it could link this story to another one! I owe you, pal! Thank you so much for your comment! Tons of hugs!

Jolly P: Hahaha oh man! I do adore Kain, but I really hope you don´t get mad at me for making Lightning sweep the floor with his face whenever he tries to talk to her. As you said, she´s heartbroken, and just like strong women like her, betrayal means the worst of the world, so earning her trust back will be a long and uneven path for him. So let´s see if he endures. About Sephiroth´s expressiveness, you´re right, he´s rather reserved, not showing his emotions much and even less through words. But I thought it would be creepier if it were him the one explaining his feelings rather than a third person doing it for him. Because it would feel more… I dunno… real? Because, to be honest, I´m trying to get inside his head, and show you all what´s like to be in there, how creepy and rotted his mind can be. I´m actually excited to show you that. So be aware that he might talk a little bit more in this story, show a little bit more of his sick desires. I´ll twist him a bit, just to make Lightning and the rest more terrified of him. I hope you still enjoy. Thank you so much for your beautiful comment! You totally cheered me up!

I don´t own Final Fantasy. I just write this out of fun.


	5. Girl Power

BAND OF BROTHERS

CHAPTER 5

ooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

"Well, well, guess who´s come out knocking at our door?" A voice above their heads startle the young women. "Sephiroth´s beautiful pet!"

The unwelcomed innuendo reaches their ears, and Lightning´s group of friends turns around to meet their matching foes. Four enemies are coming from behind a massive rock in the middle of the asteroid, with Garland at the very front, followed by Jecht, Vayne, and Kefka´s always-loathed face leering at them from above the biggest rock.

"Who are you calling 'pet', you buffoon?" It´s Tifa the one sending the first challenge, while everyone takes their battle stances.

"Yes, please do clarify. Who´s supposed to be my pet? The strawberry blonde or the brunette?" The devilish voice coming from behind them sends shivers down every young woman´s back, and slowly, all too slowly, they turn around, except for Lightning, who closes her eyes, gathering her composure as well as her strength.

Because right in front of them, standing on top of a boulder, it´s the tall form of the silver-haired mad man, with the frame of his large Masamune flashing bright under the sunlight, and a devilish smirk plastered on his features.

Lightning looks intently at each foe, and then allows her eyes to meet the silver orbs of her enemy, whose smile becomes larger the moment he fixes his stare on her.

"Right…"

Instinctively, Yuna and Rinoa get closer to Lightning, their backs almost touching hers.

"Don´t worry, Light, we´re together in this." Rinoa speaks valiantly, though she can´t avoid the tremor audible in her voice.

The Savior doesn´t respond, evaluating their odds. And not liking the outcome.

"Five against four, and with one counting as a double. Our chances are slim…" Yuna speaks up, not wanting to be the negativist, but still trying to be realistic.

"That only means we´ll have to fight harder to turn our chances around." Lightning reaches behind with one hand, finding the smaller one and squeezing, trying her hardest to give reassurance to the young woman. Yuna smiles at the gesture, but only a tad.

"Yo! Sephiroth! You can´t take them all!" Jecht yells at the man, with a tinge of playfulness behind his voice. "There are way too many chicks for only you to handle!"

"You think I can´t handle them all by myself?"

"What he means, and I´m sure you understand," Vayne intervenes, always the diplomatic but all too eager to start the fight, "is that you should share with us any of your… ah… girls. It won´t be polite at all if we just stand here watching while you have all the fun."

"Hey, you moron! It´s even less polite to talk about us like that. We´re here, you know?" Tifa yells at them, and Rinoa pushes her by the shoulder, a warning in her eyes; she really doesn´t want to be on anyone´s bad side.

Sephiroth smirks, entertained. "I really don´t mind, if you ask me. Chose whomever you want. I´ll have them after you´re done anyway."

"Tch…" Lightning mimics the man´s smirk. "I don´t like it when people decide for me." With that, she turns around and jumps towards the sky, flying as fast as she can towards Sephiroth, trying to make him face her instead of her comrades. But just when she´s about to slash him, Jecht clashes his sword against hers, blocking her path, a smirk of sufficiency plastered on his features.

"Where are you going, beautiful? Didn´t you hear the man? We get to choose whom we fight against."

She growls in anger and frustration at her new and unwelcomed opponent, but the pinkette still searches with her eyes the tall form of the silver-haired man, and when she finds Sephiroth´s face, she can see a smirk full of malice drawn on his lips, making her even more anxious.

 _I can´t let him choose someone else… either one he´ll make a living hell for them._

Jecht moves and clashes his sword against hers once again, making her stagger, a mistake that almost costs her life, if it weren´t for the fast reflexes that allow her to avoid a direct hit on the abdomen. Both blades fight for dominance, and while their swords create sparkles with every clash, the raven-haired man takes his face closest to hers, his smirk never leaving his lips.

"Stop it, blondie, you´re gonna break my heart if you still search for Sephiroth instead of dancing with me. Didn´t you hear me before? You´re mine now."

Lightning smirks in response. "You wish."

"Lightning!" Yuna and Tifa yell at her, but the pinkette yells back.

"Stay away! I can handle the two of them by myself." She says, looking back at her friends, trying her hardest to reassure them. "You concentrate on defeating the rest. I´ll come as soon as I can."

Jecht takes advantage of her distraction and breaks their contact, searching with his blade the tender skin of her leg. But Lightning is ready for him, and clashes blades once more.

"I see you like to take the easy route."

The man huffs. "Psh. Of course not, but with a chick as beautiful as you, any route is good as long as it works."

Lightning growls at the innuendo and clashes her blade against his once again, but then her senses scream at her and she makes a summersault, barely avoiding the Masamune from embedding itself in her body, though the sharp blade is still able to tear her armor and wound her side. She yelps at the pain, but it leaves her mind right away when she notices the man rushing directly towards her friends.

"Tifa! Look up!"

The brunette hears the warning on time, and jumps away, right before the deadly blade parts her in half. Once she falls on the ground, knee first, she looks up and locks eyes with the dangerous man.

"Sephiroth…"

The devilish smile never leaves the man. "Hello there Tifa, long time no see. Please, don´t die too soon, I hope you endure longer than the last time, at least while my peers have fun with my Valkyrie."

Rinoa and Yuna walk closer to Tifa´s back, supporting her.

"We´re here, Tifa." Rinoa speaks, her dark eyes fixed on the man´s tall frame. "We´ll defeat him together."

Tifa smiles and nods, but Sephiroth only chuckles.

"The more, the merrier; three will surely endure more than just one."

Lightning rushes as fast as she can towards her friends, hoping to be there in time to prevent the single-winged angel to hurt any of them, but then her instincts yell at her, so she raises her blade, just in time for it to stop Garland´s heavy sword from piercing her, though the strength of the blow still sends her flying backward.

But he´s not done with her yet.

Right before she comes to a stop, he throws his blade towards her once again, the chain dancing around, and though Lightning clashes her sword against it, apparently redirecting its path, the blade still whirls around her left wrist, entrapping her with its heavy chain, and once trapped, Garland pulls hard, making her stagger and scratching the delicate skin of her wrist. Capturing her arm had been his true intention all along. The pinkette raises Overture to break the chains, but once more her instincts alert her and she moves her hand in a swift motion, making it clash against Jecht´s Seafang, who had jumped forward towards her right side, seeking to draw some blood.

Pressing his blade against hers, he brings his face closer once more. "I told you, didn´t I? You are mine and must warn you, I´m quite the jealous type, you know?"

"Tch…"

So entertained she is with the raven-haired man, she doesn´t perceive Garland reaching them until it´s too late. Garland pulls her by the trapped limb, making her stagger, and this time the friction of the steel upon tender skin draws blood from her wrist, making her hiss. The man directs a punch towards the Savior´s face with his free hand, which the pinkette barely avoids, but the metallic ends manage to scratch her face. Lightning pulls hard at the chains, trying to free her left arm, and as the imposing man looms over her, readying another attack, she slashes her blade at him, striking his metallic forearm without making any significant damage, and then sends a fast kick towards his head, seeking to break his momentum, but her movements are limited by the chain entrapping her, and the knight avoids the hit easily, allowing his huge hand to grab her by the collar, forcing her body down and making her crash hard against the ground. All the air leaves her lungs, and she closes her eyes, coughing, but once she opens them, sees on top of her Garland´s immense figure. He had replaced his fist with his enormous boot, now resting against her chest. He presses downwards painfully hard, and she almost can feel her ribs giving way to such immense load, and she moans while doing her best effort to inhale some air, an almost impossible task given the weight of her opponent.

"Lightning!" The three friends yell at her, and Tifa makes a sprint towards the man, but then she has to jump backward, avoiding by mere inches the Masamune once more, as it stabs the ground she had been in a fraction of a second ago.

"Where are you going? It´s the three of you against me, remember?"

There´s a certain amount of terror behind the female´s red-brown eyes but forces her battle stance to look as defiant as possible. She can´t fail Lightning now, she promised her they could fight eye to eye, promised her she would protect her. And Tifa will definitely do her best to keep her promises, even if it means defeating this man once and for all.

"Wait up, Lightning! We´re coming to your aid!" Rinoa yells while pointing her Blaster Edge towards the single-winged man, while Yuna raises her staff too, reading her first spell, but then, she turns and jumps to the side, crashing against her closest friend and sending Rinoa rolling to the ground, avoiding by mere inches the firaga spell directed at them.

"Rinoa! Yuna!" Tifa yells at them, but a movement in her peripheral vision alerts her from a slash, and she jumps up further away, understanding she is in no condition to help her friends now.

 _C´mon girls! You can do it!_ She screams in her mind, hoping they can sense her thoughts, and then jumps towards Sephiroth, this time taking the offensive. _We are strong enough to win!_

Yuna and Rinoa turn around to meet eye to eye with the treacherous clown, followed closely by Vayne.

"Ha! You think you´ll leave us out of the fun. Think twice!" And with that, he sends towards them a powerful aeroga spell that envelops both girls, making them fly in between screams.

Kefka laughs at them, but Vayne looks rather annoyed and directs his eyes towards Sephiroth. He knows no matter how strong any of them can be, they shouldn´t be on the man´s wrong side.

"I hope you don´t mind we disposed of such nuisances without asking you first."

Sephiroth remains serious for a moment and then closes his eyes and smirks.

"As I said before, the more the merrier."

Vayne nods and jumps to keep up with the buffoon, who has already run towards the fallen women.

"T-Tifa… guys…" Lightning tries to yell at her friends, but the pressure over her chest is just too much to endure, and she barely whispers her call.

"You´re quite a formidable foe, Lightning." Garland speaks to her, while he leans over his knee, forcing even more pressure over her ribcage. "Formidable, for a woman. But you´re definitely no match for any of us."

Both palms against the sole of the knight´s boot, the pinkette pushes as hard as she can, trying her hardest to free her chest, if only an inch, but the weight is just too much, and she can barely intake any air. In spite of that, and against her own intelligence, she uses the last of her breath to push his buttons.

"The last one… who made the mistake… of belittling… me… paid it with… his blood."

The humongous warrior smirks, unable to prevent the admiration forming on his mind.

"We´ll see about that, woman."

He pushes his boot harder against her body, and Lightning screams, as she can feel her ribs finally giving way under the pressure. A cracking sound alerts the men of the fracture of her ribs.

Garland and Jecht chuckle as a response to her plight.

"If you beg me, I might as well finish the torture faster."

She´s gasping, the air denied to her, but in between her torment, she forces her will to grow stronger and creates a thundara spell that, transmitted from her palms through his metallic boot, creates a perfect conductor that makes her enemy writhe and yell out of electrocution, forcing him to free her from her captivity and transmitting it to Jecht, his closest ally. Once the pressure leaves her chest, she inhales deeply, not caring how much it hurts, and without losing her momentum, creates a second spell, a beautiful flare, that explodes on his face and sends the humongous knight flying backwards and away from her.

"Agh!"

"Tifa!" Hearing her friend´s yelp, Lightning looks to her side, and sheer terror envelops her. Sephiroth slashes upwards, breaking the brunette´s guard and sending her flying backwards, only to crash hard against a rock. Tifa rolls on the ground, barely avoiding the next slash. It´s obvious the man is winning their battle. The pinkette forces herself to stand up, ignoring the pain, but when she´s about rush at them, a powerful strike hits her back and pushes her downwards, the side of her face hitting the ground once more. She gets up fast but a pair of hands trapping her left arm prevents her from doing it completely, and without losing a second, said hands twist her arm painfully, forcing her on one knee, and with the same inertia, as well as swift and precise movements followed by a sickening crack, her foe twists her limb even more and forces her arm out of its socket, the pain so exquisite Lightning can´t prevent a scream from coming out of her lips.

"Aaaaaggghh!"

"Now you cannot win." Vayne Solidor smirks evilly at her, both his hands still imprisoning Lightning´s arm, the pain so unbearable both knees are on the floor, her body doubled over itself, trembling, as her pink bangs block her eyes. Forcing herself to move in spite of the pain, and of the hands keeping her arm in check, she raises her blade, ready to strike the man hurting her, but its travel is stopped by another big hand that entraps her wrist right before the blade reaches its target. She looks to the side, terror, and torture in her eyes.

"Umh… am I sick, or does she look quite hot in such predicament?" Jecht has finally recovered from Lightning´s last attack, and with another twist and a second scream, forces her to let go of her blade.

Lightning is panting now, doing her best not to fall unconscious by the amount of pain, both knees on the ground and both arms imprisoned, useless and bleeding, while her bangs cover her blood-stained face and her blue, pain-filled eyes. She´s the humiliating picture of utter defeat. A shadow in front of her makes her know another enemy is looming over her, and she hates herself for being so vulnerable. For letting these men take advantage of her, and in such a stupid way.

"She does look amazing when she´s suffering. Right?" Vayne speaks to the man in front of her, and by the metallic boots entering her line of vision, she knows it´s Garland. The pinkette looks up and glares at the brunet beside her, but said man hits her cheek hard, breaking her lip, and her eyes close again, hidden by her long bangs.

After a moment, Garland´s huge blade touches the base of her chin and forces it up, its tip scratching the delicate skin of her neck and creating a bloody path. Without her consent, he forces her eyes to look up at him, the movement sending pain towards her shoulder too.

"I thought you said we shouldn´t belittle you. Now tell me, beautiful Valkyrie, what do you have to say about your recent plight?"

Panting, the pain almost unbearable, she manages to smirk at him. "I´d say it´s obvious you need three brave and very proud men to take down a single woman. You sure live up to your reputation."

Garland slaps her in the face again, his metallic gauntlet scratching her skin and leaving trails of blood.

"You should know your place, woman. There´s no way you nor any of your kind can defeat us, and it will be your blood what awakens the golden dragon today."

Lightning´s blood boils in anger and desperation, when suddenly there´s a blinding light in front of them, forcing her to close her eyes; when she looks up, she finds herself free of the three men, and Rinoa wearing beautiful angel wings, floating in front of her.

"R-Rinoa… how?" And then, without previous warning, there´s a powerful wall made of light that forms from the maiden´s hands and strikes her foes with a mighty crash, sending them further away from her. Rinoa, after making sure they´re defeated, immediately folds her wings and falls besides Lightning, sending a bluish fog her way, the cura spell making the taller woman breathe easier almost immediately. Utter concern plastered on her features, Rinoa kneels beside her friend, inspecting her wounds and making sure they´re closing correctly.

"Are you okay, Light?"

Lightning smiles at the smaller woman. "I´m okay now, thanks to you."

"No… no, you´re not! Your arm…"

The two of them look down at the odd angle her arm has taken, and Rinoa looks up to meet Lightning´s still pained eyes.

"Does it hurt you?"

The pinkette tries a smile but comes out as a grimace. "Yes… but it´s okay, you´ll just have to put it in its place for it to heal."

"No way!" The maiden yells, her eyes opening wide like plates at the invitation. "I´ve never done that!"

"If you don´t, it won´t heal correctly, no matter the spell."

But Lightning can only see terror in the girl´s dark eyes and knows she won´t be able to stand it. The pinkette looks up to see Tifa fighting her toughest against Sephiroth, pushing as much as she can, hitting as hard as her body allows her. But Lightning knows she has not much time left. So the Savior makes a decision.

With softness in her eyes, she looks at her friend´s terrified orbs. "It´s okay, Rinoa. Don´t worry, you don´t have to do it." Doing an enormous effort, Lightning stands up, reaches for the straighter boulder and rests her forehead upon it, while whispering words Rinoa cannot understand, her eyes closed and a countenance of concentration, as if she were praying.

Rinoa approaches her friend. "Lightning? What are you…?"

But before she can finish the sentence, the pinkette draws her injured shoulder backward, slightly away from the boulder and, with a fast and precise movement, slams her shoulder hard against the rock, creating a sickening crack that accompanies her painful scream.

"Aaarrghhh!"

"Lightning!" Rinoa jumps up at the action, startled, and jumps forward once she sees the Savior falling on her knees, her body collapsing against the stone. Rinoa arrives in time to help her before the pinkette falls on the ground, and the winged maiden takes the injured body in her arms, though still scolds her, tears in her eyes, while she creates another cura spell. "What have you done?! What was that for?!"

Lightning pants while her whole body trembles, the pain still exquisite, and then gives her friend a tired smile.

"The… the shoulder is in its place… now it can heal correctly…"

"Oh… Lightning…" Rinoa closes her eyes and places her forehead on top of her friend´s, trying to give her comfort, while the magic does its work. After a few seconds, and once she can breathe better, with her arm already in its position, Lightning looks up to search for Sephiroth and finds Tifa still fighting against him. It´s obvious he has the upper hand, what with the girl having many bruises and cuts all over her body, but it´s obvious, too, that he´s struggling on defeating her, which makes the pinkette proud.

Gathering her remaining strength, Lightning stands up, staggering a bit, but then shakes her head and gets ready to jump to aid, but Rinoa pulls her down. "Wait! I still have to heal you! You´re all injured and bleeding!"

"Rinoa let me go… I have to help her..."

"But Lightning! Look at her! Please just look at Tifa! She might not be winning, but she sure as hell is giving him some good fight."

Rather unwillingly, Lightning does as Rinoa asks, and there, in front of her, is the proof she needs: Tifa is hurt, many bruises and cuts gracing her skin, but her movements are still firm, her posture is perfect, her punches are strong and precise, and her defense and offense are magnificent. Indeed Sephiroth is way stronger, but Tifa has held her ground very beautifully. Lightning can´t help but smile in pride at her friend´s determination.

"We promised you we´ll fight at your level." Rinoa speaks into her ear, trying to convey her some reassurance. "It´s hard because you´re the best. But as you can see, if we do our best effort, we´re able to keep up with you."

Now a truly smile graces her lips, as she nods, acknowledging her words. "Okay, fine, you´re right. But anyway this can´t go on. The Planesgorger will be here soon, so we need to finish that fight. Please go help Yuna while I take care of him."

"You shouldn´t worry about Yuna," Rinoa shrugs. "She´s handling it just fine." Rinoa points her finger towards the east, and there, Lightning can see how the last brunette is making Kefka suffer, with combinations of blasts, thundaras, and firagas spells, the infamous clown almost making a run for good. Lightning sighs in relief but takes advantage of Rinoa´s distraction to rush forward to aid her friend. This time, when Sephiroth strikes his blade down towards Tifa, Lightning´s Overture clashes against Masamune, creating sparks with the blow.

"Oh? I´m very glad you´re back to me, Lightning. I thought you had left me, so I hope you understand I had to entertain myself." He smirks at seeing her figure in front of him. Her bloodied, trembling, but proud and beautiful figure in front of him. "I hope I didn´t make you jealous."

"You should already know it´s me the one you have to fight. Let my friends be."

His smile is wide, almost luminous, as he tries to taunt her. "Well, I saw you all too entertained with the rest of my peers, I thought I couldn´t be that selfish."

"How considerate of you."

They clash swords again, and the battle dance starts, until the paths of dark magic appear in the sky. The Planesgorger has arrived.

"Uff… that´s quite a shame, I had already missed you badly. But as you might know, that´s my cue to leave this place." He clashes his blade against hers once more, and, using the sparks as a distraction, he brings his face closer to hers in between the blades, pressing his lips against hers. Lightning doesn´t know what´s happening, and her mind goes blank the moment his lips fall on top of hers, a distraction that he uses to his advantage, placing his hand on the back of her neck to deepen the kiss, his tongue trying to force its way inside her mouth. But after a moment she recovers and takes advantage of his intention, and angrily, she bites his lower lip hard, drawing some blood and forcing him to let her go. The man jumps backwards, just in time to avoid a direct slash from her.

"Freaking bastard! How dare you?!"

The man chuckles at her words. "Your lips are as sweet as I always imagined them to be. I´m sorry I must leave you, my dear, but I really hope you dream of me today because I sure will dream of you."

And with that, he disappears through a luminous gateway, leaving a very angry woman and a group of speechless friends.

ooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo

Cloud walks beside Squall, both friends seeking the next gateway. After the fiasco with the girls, their mood was so sore, they hadn´t been too willing to take anyone else with them. Fortunately for the two friends, Tidus and Kain had chosen different paths as well. The cadet didn´t know why he really distrusted the Dragoon, but he had always got on his nerves, and even more so now that he understands the true depth of his relationship with the pinkette.

After a couple of minutes walking in comfortable silence, Cloud decides it´s time to address a thought that has been plaguing his mind since the previous day.

"Can I ask you something? Why are you helping Kain? I thought you hated his guts."

Squall remains silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "She loves him."

"Mmh? She? Whom do you mean?"

"Lightning loves the bastard."

"Really?" Cloud remains silent for a moment, mulling over this new information. "I would´ve never guessed she´d pick someone like him. Are you certain of it?"

Squall pauses, not too willing to share his thoughts, but if he doesn´t trust Cloud, who is there for him to trust? "You should´ve seen her face when he came to the camp. I´ve never seen her like that, smiling so… brightly. She looked absolutely beautiful."

Cloud scoffs. "I would´ve never thought you´d fall in love with her."

Squall punches his friend in the arm and the blond chuckles.

"Don´t be stupid."

"And? What´s her beautiful smile has to do with anything? I would never think you would want to fix anyone´s love life."

"I don´t… I actually wanted to ask Rinoa to do the honors. She´s very good at that. But I didn´t have time to ask her, you saw how she was, and actually had decided to just drop it, because the man is so… thick, and it´s just not my problem." He shrugs and stays silent, not too willing to keep on talking. Until an intrusive image appears in his mind. "But then I saw Lightning leaving and… I still believe this whole mess in between them is quite easy to sort out. Wouldn´t you think?"

Cloud shrugs. "I guess… but neither you nor I can understand Lightning enough to help the guy, I mean, sometimes I cannot even understand Tifa. What would you suggest we do then?"

"Well…" Squall hesitates. "If we can´t ask our women for help, I think I know the perfect man for the job."

The blond scoffs. "I just think you should let them solve their problems by themselves. Why do you care anyway?"

Squall sighs. "I don´t know, you well know I usually don´t, but… but I really would love to see Lightning´s smile again, and if its Kain the one who can do the magic, then I want to help."

"I still think you´ve developed a thing for her."

Another punch, though this time it feels as if the action had sealed their agreement, and then they keep walking with a silent camaraderie.

ooooooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

A/N: Well… I guess I can say I overdid it this time? Sorry, I was a little bit angry, I guess. And usually is Lightning the one who suffers my inability to control stress. But at least it means the chapter is a little bit more exciting, right? The idea in this story, if you haven´t caught up with it, is that it´s the blood of the champions, not just the fighting, what calls forth the Planesgorger. That´s why, in this story, most of Spiritu´s champions are rather… sadistic? As you can see, not only Sephiroth is to blame. Or, we can still blame him for bringing forth the sadistic part of his comrades, right?

I also wanted to introduce the possibility that someone will be there to help Kain on getting Lightning back because we all want Lightning to forgive Kain, don´t we?

Hope you liked the story.

I don´t own Final Fantasy. I just write this out of fun.


End file.
